Dragon Tears
by Jennie Chang
Summary: Part One of the Dragon Hearts Trilogy. The course of true love never did run smooth, and for Charlie Weasley and his friends, it's definitely a bumpy ride. Originally written in 2005. Reviews appreciated.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to Warner Bros, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Heyday/1498 films, JK Rowling and Raincoat books. I don't lay any claim to it. The characters Simeon Slovensky, Mirabella Ribisi, Seth Johansson, Giselle Leblanc, and any family members or friends attached to these characters are the property of my friend, Rachel. The characters Abigail Ridges, Herbert Wilde, Nisha Wilde, any other extra minor and supporting characters, and the storyline belong to me, Jennie Chang. Please do not use any of these characters or storyline unless we are both consulted and give permission first. This disclaimer will be updated as needed.

**Dedication:** To Rachel for her help with making characters for this story and aiding in the planning effort. You rock with the thing called creativity.

**Prologue**

The morning of September the first was a busy one for the people at Heathrow Airport in London. The heavy fall of rain wasn't making good flight conditions, causing the planes to be delayed and leaving people stranded and frustrated with the airlines, who already had their hands full trying to reschedule flights and assure their complaining customers that all would be taken care of. With all the hustle and bustle of everyone rushing to make the first possible flight out of there no one really noticed as three redheads, an older woman and two young men, popped out of thin air past all the security measures and headed towards the departure gates.

"Same every year, packed with Muggles," Mrs Weasley piped as she walked along clutching her handbag, knowing that no one amongst the crowd was paying attention to her besides her two sons. "Do you think your planes will be on time what with all this rain?"

"Even though they don't have magic, mum, Muggles do fairly well for themselves," her eldest son, Bill, answered while his brown eyes wandered looking for a sign that would lead them to the proper gate as he readjusted the weight of his bag on his shoulder. "They have special automatic machine things that give them information and help them navigate in weather like this."

"It still would have been better if your employers could arrange magical transportation," Mrs Weasley stated the fact plainly, looking back as her two boys walked behind her. "Portkeys and the such are much more reliable."

"A Portkey for one person didn't seem to be worthwhile, mum," the second son, Charlie, explained the logic of his boss while he walked. "To go through the process and legal work with the Ministry for one person to get back, it just isn't worth the time. Broomsticks aren't the most reliable in the rain, the Floo network doesn't extend out to Eastern Europe, and international Apparition just doesn't work."

"And a certain brother of mine would certainly know Apparition isn't their strongest talent," Bill whispered, poking fun at his younger brother with a laugh.

"Shut up!" Charlie gently punched Bill in the arm, going a little red in the face at remembering his first attempt at the Apparition test in which he had gone a little too far south of his preferred destination and landed on top of an old lady that soon after needed a strong memory charm to forget the incident.

"Charlie, you're leaving first," Mrs Weasley stated, not having heard her sons momentary joking. Looking up at some of the flight times on a board, the three Weasleys scanned over the chart, and sure enough there was an on-schedule flight into Bucharest, Romania leaving in ten minutes time from Gate 32.

"Down that corridor then." Bill pointed to a long hallway on the left with a sign hanging above it reading in bold black: Gates 25 to 35.

Without another word between them, the three Weasleys sped up their walking pace and rushed quickly down the long stretch of gateways. Almost running down the carpeted corridor, they blended in perfectly with the large crowds of Muggles hurrying about, remaining perfectly inconspicuous to the naked eye.

Finally they reached the proper gate and came to a halt at the long line-up of Muggles waiting to board the aircraft. Reaching deep into the pocket of his pants, Charlie removed a blank airline ticket. Nothing had been recorded on his ticket, and it was just what Charlie needed to get on.

Inhaling deeply into his lungs, he held the ticket in front of his lips and blew on the blank boarding pass with a long exhale. His breath activated the magical charm placed on it, and instantly, the flight information began to appear before his eyes, exactly the information needed to get on that particular flight.

"That's it than," Charlie declared, making sure the enchantment had remembered to spell his name right as he gave it a quick check with his brown eyes, "this is my flight back to work."

"Have a safe trip, Charlie dear." Mrs Weasley tiptoed to kiss her second-born child on both of his very freckled cheeks and give him a tight motherly hug. Pulling out of his arms, she put her stern authority face back on, almost as if to scold as she spoke, "And while you're gone, no tattoos or piercing. And remember to get your hair cut regularly."

"It's his body, mum. Let him do what he wants with it," Bill interrupted his mother's warning. Mockingly, he tossed his head back, letting his long ponytail of flaming red hair fly onto his shoulder as his fang earring swung on his earlobe. He shot a very smart look at his mother, who looked back with questioning of her eldest son's decisions regarding appearance before turning back to Charlie.

"Owl once you arrive safely back at the reserve," Mrs Weasley reminded with a click of her tongue, showing that she was trying to remember if there was anything else she should tell him. "Oh, and see if you can get time off at Christmas. It's been so long since you had Christmas at home."

"I'll try," Charlie sighed, knowing that he was rarely lucky enough to afford to go home for holidays.

"Last call for passengers boarding on Flight 178 to Bucharest, Romania at Gate 32," the voice of a flight attendant called out over the intercom.

"Bye mum!" Charlie hugged his mother one last time before walking backwards towards the gateway as he waved goodbye. "Give my regards to Percy and dad. And see you later, Bill."

Bill and Mrs Weasley waved as Charlie handed the young brunette flight attendant his boarding pass and entered the winding tunnel towards the plane, and towards his home away from home across Europe in Romania.

**A/N:** I originally posted this story elsewhere a long while ago, though due to a hacking problem, it was since deleted. It did win a few awards on that site though, and once another site I'm working for is finished remodifying their fanfiction section, it will be there too. There is a whole trilogy, and this is the first part. This was going to be the only part, but in the planning stages, it started growing and...I wound up with three.

This takes place during Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, only following Charlie Weasley and some original characters in Romania.

Special shouts to Rachel, who made the banner for this story and created many original characters.


	2. Chapter One: Return to Romania

**Chapter One: Return to Romania**

Lifting the fabric cover of the window, Charlie looked out from his seat on the plane into the open clouds, which were beginning to disappear to give way to land. The city of Bucharest, capital of Romania, was coming into view slowly as the airplane descended from the sky. The large buildings and roads were growing larger as Charlie buckled his seatbelt and waited to land at the airport to finally be reunited with his second home and extended family.

After his summer vacation at the Burrow with his parents and siblings, Charlie was ready to get back to work in the field with the Romanian Longhorns and Norwegian Ridgebacks. It wasn't that being at home in England was a strenuous activity because he liked to be with his family and catch up with all that was happening with his brothers and sister, but he'd missed the dragons and co-workers over the break, and was more than thrilled to be returning to see them again with another year of work. For many weeks he had been longing to run along the terrain, use every muscle in his body, and feel the rush of adventure and excitement in caring for dragons again. The mere thought of getting back into his job was a thrill in itself.

The scene outside was inching closer as the flight attendant went over the message system and informed everyone that the plane would be touching on Romanian soil in only a few moments time. There were a few reminders about luggage and safety precautions, but Charlie barely listened as he watched the graceful descent of the plane, swiftly moving onto the runway and landing perfectly like a Peruvian Vipertooth on flat ground.

He was back.

- - -

After a short walk through the airport security and a flash of his working visa from the Ministry, Charlie wandered down the corridor towards the open arrival atrium, his eyes scanning the crowds of people for a familiar face. His employer had promised to send someone from the reserve to claim him from the airport, so it was a mere matter of trying to find out who it was. With his bag on his shoulder, he aimlessly let his brown eyes do the work while his mind tried to imagine who would likely have been sent to fetch him.

"Velcome back Veasley," a voice from nearby called out.

Remembering that strong unmistakable Bulgarian accent, Charlie spun around to his left to greet the familiar friend that matched the memorable voice. There next to him with a chocolate bar wrapper crinkling in his closing fist was a thin young wizard. Though quite slim at a moment's glance, there was the discreet look of well-toned muscles beneath his black T-shirt, which highlighted the pale glow of his skin and the darkness of his brown shaggy cut hair that fell over his equally dark eyes. At first sight, the young sorcerer was a very mysterious and shady character to be looked out for and wary of, but Charlie knew better than to judge him. This was the closest friend he had in all Romania.

"Good to see you again, Simeon." Charlie greeted his co-worker and pal with a hard pat on the back, knowing that his friend wouldn't receive a hug very well. "Have a good summer?"

"The usual," Simeon replied casually shrugging his shoulders, throwing the used chocolate wrapper into the dustbin nearby. "Vorking, reading, and keeping up vith news from the Quidditch Vorld Cup."

"So you know that you owe me ten Galleons," Charlie laughed, giving Simeon a small nudge on the arm with his fist. "I told you Ireland would win. They have seven strong players in that League."

"But ve have the best Seeker," Simeon argued, beginning to stroll along the airport floors, walking and talking at the same time with Charlie. "It is a shame that Krum could not vait for twenty more points to be scored. Ve vould have von that vay, but at least he caught the Snitch."

"I suppose you heard about all the chaos at the cup as well?" Charlie inquired as he recalled the incident in his head, strolling beside his friend as they made their way towards the parking garage.

"I did," Simeon replied coolly without much effort or emotion. "Very surprising. You saw the Dark Mark in the sky?"

"Unfortunately," Charlie sighed, readjusting the weight on his shoulder as he ran a hand through his red mane and brought it down to rest on his extremely freckled cheek. "My brothers and I were there to restore some of the order when it happened. Tried to catch some of those involved, but once the mark was above our heads, everyone scattered. No one was caught."

"Shame." Simeon shook his head with disappointment, brushing some of his own hair off of his eyes. "Whoever vas involved should be punished for their actions. Ve do not need reminders of vhat happened those many years ago."

Charlie nodded in agreement with Simeon, but neither of them could bring themselves to say another word about the topic. It had been a shock for the whole wizard world to be reminded of the followers of the Dark Lord who were still at large. The scary thought had made every headline of every public press company, increasing the frenzy around the mysterious mark. Talking about it was certainly not a pleasant piece for conversation.

"So, am I the last person to get back from holidays?" Charlie asked to change the subject subtly.

Simeon stopped dead in his tracks as they reached the sliding doors that led outside. Slapping his forehead with a loud smack, he groaned with frustration as Charlie turned around, puzzled as to why they had stopped at the door.

"I forgot," Simeon stated plainly with a heavy sigh. "Ve are to vait for von more person. They are coming from Gatvick Airport."

"Who?" Charlie asked retracing his steps alongside Simeon as they went back to the arrival area of the airport. Charlie hadn't recalled any of the other English workers living near him. Barely any of them had even gone home for a holiday, or they would have returned already.

"Some new person," Simeon replied with a scoff. "A Healer."

Charlie looked at Simeon quizzically. The Romania International Dragon Reserve had never had a Healer working in their midst before. In past, it was their boss who had taken care of all their broken bones and scrapes and burns in the tiny infirmary; a Healer was never needed to do that.

"Why is a Healer coming?" Charlie asked with a puzzled tone, trying to keep up with Simeon's hurried pace.

"Ask Herb vhen ve get back," Simeon answered sarcastically, stopping in front of a board with the list of airplanes arriving to check for a flight from Gatwick. "He just tells me to pick up a Healer Ridges. He did not say vhy. The plane is arriving now. New person should be out in a minute."

Simeon led the way towards the arrival gates where they had just come from, letting Charlie trail after him as they swiftly made their way back through the crowds and ended up standing at the door, looking for a person whom neither had met before.

"Do you know what this person looks like?" Charlie asked as people began to pour out of the arrival doors and disperse into the masses. "A hair colour? An eye colour? Maybe what they're wearing today?"

"Nothing," Simeon answered with a shake of his head.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Simeon rustled through the storage in his pants and finally pulled out a fistful of Muggle money. Glancing over it briefly, he counted the change silently with his lips moving and turned to Charlie.

"I am going to get something to eat," he announced as he turned to leave. "The Muggles have very good chocolate, cannot buy in wizard stores. Something called, Kit-Kat Bar."

Before Charlie could object to Simeon leaving him alone to look for their new co-worker, he had already vanished in his search for a vending machine or snack bar. Charlie sighed, and went back to watching the doors, hoping that if he yelled out the name, Ridges, enough that someone would answer.

The name Ridges was ringing a bell in Charlie's mind. Somewhere in the back of his head, he had heard the name before. It was quite possible that he had heard the name from school before, as so many students wandered the halls of Hogwarts. It would have been no surprise if he had come across the name before, but he just couldn't put a face to the recognizable name.

"RIDGES!" Charlie called out as people streamed out of the doors. "RIDGES!"

Feeling silly calling out the name while others had welcome signs or meeting places, he regretted letting Simeon get away so easily. It was his job to claim the new Healer, and now he was playing the fool by calling out the name.

"CHARLIE!" an unfamiliar, but excited female voice called from the crowd of people. "CHARLIE WEASLEY!"

Charlie looked into the crowd for the person who had called his full name, not seeing anyone who stood out in particular against the droves. It was hard to see anyone with everyone walking in any which direction they pleased, waving and calling out over others. Still, he looked out, hoping he would see a sign.

"CHARLIE!" the voice called again, getting louder, clearer and closer, and beginning to seem familiar. "OVER HERE!"

Squinting for a better look, he tried to make out where the voice was coming from, seeing a single hand waving towards him, though no face was attached over all the other merry travellers and locals.

Then he saw her, beginning to shift through the crowds and making her way through. Long light brown hair hung loose from her scalp to border a slender child-like face that looked around her surroundings through large dark green eyes. Standing straight and tall, it seemed odd that Charlie had missed her that whole time she had been trying to flag him down. With a large smile breaking out instantly, she bolted right for Charlie as he realized who this young woman was.

"By Merlin, it can't be," he gasped in shock, though he couldn't help at the same time to smile. "I haven't seen you since Hogwarts."

"It's so good to see you, Charlie," she exclaimed as she wrapped her long slender arms around his neck and embraced him like the old friend he was to her.

"I should have known," Charlie laughed into her shoulder. "Abigail Ridges."

**A/N:** Some people got it wrong last time, so I'll state it now. Simeon's name isn't pronounced like Simon. The "e" does need to be heard. Sim-EE-un is the proper pronunciation for this character's name.

Also, actors were selected to portray these characters in images, such as the one from the prologue and any other sort of ads that are released over the trilogy. For interests sake: Charlie Weasley is portrayed by gold medal gymnast Paul Hamm; Simeon Slovensky is portrayed by the actor Edward Furlong; and images for Abigail Ridges use actress Amanda Bynes.

Keep looking for more chapters in the future and enjoy!


	3. Chapter Two: Surprise Reunion

**Chapter Two: Surprise Reunion**

"I can't believe you're here, Abby," Charlie said, still smiling in shock as he held tightly onto her shoulders.

"I can't believe you're here," she repeated his words and mirrored his contagious laughter. "It has been far too long since we last saw each other, and now we're here just meeting so suddenly. I didn't think of all people, I would see you here."

"You forgot I work on a dragon reserve?" Charlie scoffed mockingly as he pulled away from their embrace, looking at his old friend's delighted grin. "Gee Abby, you were supposed to be my best friend and know those sorts of things."

"Well, it has been...how long since you last wrote to me?" Abby scolded, placing her hands on her hips, while still displaying her teeth. "In all honesty, I had no idea you would be here when I applied for the job."

"I take you have found our Healer," the accented voice of Simeon came from behind Charlie as a light tapping finger grazed his shoulder blade.

"Yes," Charlie exclaimed, turning around to face his shaggy haired friend, who was opening the wrapper to his chocolate bar as he waited patiently to be formally introduced to the lady standing before him. "This is Abigail Ridges, Healer, and a very dear friend of mine from Hogwarts."

"Hello," Abby said very simply, friendly extending her hand to Simeon with a large smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Ridges," Simeon nodded with a slight formal bow towards Abby, ignoring her outreached hand. "I am Simeon Slovensky and ve should go to the car and start heading to the reserve. Ve vant to be back before dinner and it is best that you settle in."

"Oh," she spoke, a bit startled by the formality. "All right."

Without another word, Simeon snatched her suitcase into his own hand and began to make his way towards the parking area in complete silence. Charlie and Abby followed behind, attempting to keep up with his long stride and quick step with little success.

"Is he all right?" Abby asked Charlie when Simeon was far enough from earshot. Her eyebrows arched as her worried voice quivered slightly on her tongue. "Did I say something wrong or do something he didn't like?"

"Believe me, Abby," Charlie reassured his friend with a pat on the back and small grin, "that's just Simeon being Simeon."

- - -

"By Merlin, this country is beautiful," Abby let the words escape from her lips as she sat in the backseat of the car gazing out the window into the landscape of the new nation.

"Yeah," Charlie agreed, nodding his head from the passenger side as he looked out from the front window. "It really is amazing."

The sight of tall skyscraper buildings and the modern city of Bucharest had fallen away to the picturesque scene of the Romanian countryside as they drove towards the reserve. Along the concrete road, they were passing by farmlands filled with miles upon miles of various crops that were ripe and ready for an upcoming harvest, as well as grazing land for animals, whom lay ideally by watching the car whiz by them. Ahead of them were the mountains filled with forests of trees, which stood straight, tall and majestic against the bright blue afternoon sky. It was a breathtaking scene truly worthy of postcards that they were passing by, and it was marvellous to think that they were living so close to it.

"This scenery, it reminds me of the train ride to Hogwarts," Abby sighed dreamily, remembering her first ride to her new school as she watched the farmlands go by with her chin resting on her open palm. "I was so nervous the first time I was on the Hogwarts Express."

"Just the Express?" Charlie smirked on hearing that comment, looking in the mirror to see his friend's reflection. "I recall some silly Muggleborn from our house nearly biting her nails off during the Welcoming Feast."

"I wasn't the only one who was intimidated," Abby argued back, giving Charlie a phoney nasty look as her head peered into the front seat. "And by the way, you would have been too if you'd only found out a month before that you were a wizard and you were being shipped across the country for schooling."

"But you managed," Charlie joked, poking Abby gently in the nose. "Somehow, despite being an ignorant fool, you made it work with lots of help from a good intelligent friend with red hair."

"Yes, Bill was a great help," Abby replied coolly, tilting her head to one side as she smiled innocently, before she hit Charlie hard in the upper arm.

"Ve vill be at the barrier soon," Simeon finally interrupted the conversation with his low monotone voice, his dark brown eyes removed of his shaggy bangs as they focused solely on the road.

"Barrier?" Abby questioned, tearing her eyes from Charlie and looked right ahead for what Simeon was speaking of.

"It's just a protection charm that repels the Muggles and shields the reserve," Charlie explained to cease Abby's curiosity as he massaged his arm. "We pass right through it with no problems, but you might feel something weird. It passes though."

The farmlands began to give way and change into mountain terrain, tall trees surrounding them on either side as they drove along. Simeon made a sharp turn to the right, where the concrete road turned into a bumpy gravel side path, barely visible between the grand forest tree trunks. No doubt that it was a road rarely travelled on, what with roots and weeds growing right through the path.

"Here it comes," Simeon said, putting full concentration on as he gripped the steering wheel tightly and drove forward.

Straight ahead of the car was a straight gravel path leading into seemingly endless woodland, but the anxious silence of the passengers said otherwise. With baited breath, Abby watched from the centre of the backseat, looking for some sort of sign that they were crossing into wizard ground, but there was nothing visible from where she was seated.

Instead, it was the sudden feeling of pressure building up in her ears, and the quick release, that told her they had crossed the barrier without a problem.

On the other side, the scenery hadn't changed a bit. Trees and mountain forest still surrounded the gravel path they drove along, and it seemed there was no building in sight being protected by the barrier. For a brief moment, there was the question of if they had even come to it yet. But before Abigail could open her mouth and ask, there was a momentary blast of a striking scarlet flame jetting into the sky from a distance that told her they were indeed in a wizard zone.

- - -

They had only been driving a short while down the road when a building came into view at the end of the way. Standing before them, tall and proud, was a two-story white structure with a wide veranda wrapped around the front. White Romanesque columns sprouted from the ground and supported the second story, which leaked over the porch. Open identically shaped windows were spread evenly along the building, giving it a perfectly symmetrical look. It had the aura of an old mansion from the south of the United States complete with blue shuttered windows, and seemed more like a wealthy cotton plantation than the homely dragon reserve it was.

"Here we are," Charlie announced as Simeon stopped the car right in front of the white mansion. "Home away from home."

The three of them shuffled out of the car, stepping out into the warm sticky air outside with luggage in tow. Once they had all gotten their possessions out, the boys stretched out their stiff spines and legs as Abby took a glance at the white building, in awe at it's beauty and grandeur.

"Amazing," she breathed, nodding her head.

"It's smaller than Hogwarts," Charlie stated plainly, walking up to stand beside Abby as he ran his hand through his mob of red hair. "But it works."

Before anything else could be said or done, a loud bang noise resounded through the area, making everyone wince in surprise and turn their attention to the doorway, where the sound had originated.

"WEASLEY," a loud booming voice came from the flung open door.

A middle-aged man came running onto the porch and began to descend the steps towards them. The glare of the sun bounced off the significant balding patch in the middle of his head, bordered by thin strips of snowy white hair on either side. Rhythmically, his belly of jelly bounced as he ran towards them, up and down with each step he took. The bouncing stomach, twinkling blue eyes sheltered by little round glasses perched on his nose, white moustache, stubble beard, and bright tropical printed shirt gave him an appearance comparable to Santa Claus on a Hawaiian vacation.

"Good to see you, Charlie, ol' boy," the man said, speaking in an American accent. He patted Charlie on the back and gave him a tight hug before he could react. "We were worried about you lad, after we heard about that incident at the Quidditch World Cup. It was sure great to hear you were unharmed."

"Thanks, Herb," Charlie said, turning a light shade of red due to a mixture of embarrassment and lack of oxygen with the suffocating embrace. "You can stop hugging me, now."

"Just good to have you back here," Herb sighed, breaking away from the hug, and patting Charlie on the shoulder again.

Turning away, he took a step back in surprise of seeing a new unrecognisable face in front of him. Touching his index finger to his small prickly beard as his blue eyes narrowed in on her, he thought for a moment, before he suddenly remembered whom she had to be. "Ah, you must be Abigail Ridges."

"Yes," Abby answered, taking a few steps forward and extending her hand.

"Oh, we've been expecting you," Herb exclaimed, giving her hand a vigorous shake. "I'm Herbert Wilde, the owner of the reserve, and it is so nice to finally meet you, having heard so many nice things about you. Your last employers recommended you very highly. Was your flight coming in all right?"

"Yes, very lovely, Mr Wilde," Abby smiled politely with a nod.

"Oh please," Herb scoffed at her formality with a wave of his hand, "call me Herb. Everyone around here does anyway. We like to keep things casual, don't we Simeon?"

Simeon glanced up at his boss and new co-worker, nodding quietly before he turned his attention back down to ground as he leaned against the car.

"So," Herb continued, turning back to Abby, "how was your trip up here?"

"Very nice," Abby answered, her green eyes darting to look towards Charlie as she pushed some stray locks of hair behind her ear. "It was a very surprising reunion for Charlie and me."

"Abby and I, we're old friends," Charlie explained before Herb could ask, "from our days at Hogwarts together."

"Really?" Herb looked to Charlie and then to Abby with a smile. "Well, that sure is a coincidence for you. And I guess that makes coming here a little easier on you too, having a friend already here to show you around and introduce you to people and all that stuff. And why are we still standing around out here? We should get inside and find Abby a room so she can get settled before dinner."

"I need to park the car in the garage first," Simeon stated quietly to Charlie, as Herb began to lead the way up the steps towards the main white building. "I vill see you later."

Without another word, Simeon stepped back into the car and began to drive around the main building to park, leaving Charlie and Abby standing in front of the main building. Taking a few steps forward, Charlie put his hand on Abby's shoulder, giving her a little encouraging squeeze as he spoke directly into her ear.

"Shall we?" he asked with a silly smirk.

"Definitely," she replied, turning to him with a nod and picking up her suitcase.

With luggage in hand, the two friends walked up the wooden veranda and through the door Herb had left open, right into the warm reception area. Greeting them were painted yellow walls decorated with bright pictures of beach and country vacation scenes and tempting squashy purple armchairs spread out in an unorganised fashion. As was expected, the casual appearance of everything gave a real feeling of a home rather than a place of work.

"You can have a seat," Herb said out of the blue, as he crouched over a clipboard in an open windowed office adjoining with the receiving area. His intense concentration was clear as he pushed his round glasses up right in front of his eyes. "I just need to look here and see where there's room for you in the girls sleeping quarters."

"Um...Herb," Charlie spoke over the rhythmic tapping of his employer's pencil as he approached the large open window leading into the office. "I know for fact that Bella doesn't have a roommate, so perhaps Abby could go there."

Herb looked up, clapping his hands together excitedly. "Of course! That's a perfect arrangement. Why didn't I think of that to start with?"

Quickly, Herb reached his hand out to the key rack at the back of the office and grabbed a single key hanging on one of many hooks. Taking a quick look at the key, making sure he had grabbed the right one, he tossed it onto the counter.

"Room 317," Herb announced proudly to Abby, taking his pencil and scribbling information onto his clipboard.

"I'll take you there," Charlie said, taking the key and throwing it to Abby.

"Great," she smiled, catching the key in her palm.

- - -

It was a short walk through the empty white corridors of the main building that lead towards the residence for all workers of the reserve. On their way, Charlie had acted the tour guide and pointed out a few of the landmarks, the mess hall, common room, washrooms, laundry facilities, and amphitheatre, before the doors that led outside were directly in front of them.

Stepping outside, they walked right into a courtyard of lush green grass with one sidewalk leading towards the houses, which enclosed the court. Each large dormitory building was made of solid red brick and had four stories, clearly providing living areas for hundreds of people. Flowering plants crawled up the sides of the buildings, providing a fresh pleasing smell all around, on top of being easy on the eyes.

"I think I'm going to like it here," Abby sighed to Charlie, stepping down the path, having a glance around.

"HEY WEASLEY!" a loud voice from one end of the courtyard bellowed. "HEADS UP!"

Without warning, a bright purple circular discus came hurling towards them. On instinct, Charlie dropped his baggage to the floor and broke into a run. He threw himself into the air, seeming to fly for an instant, and caught the Frisbee with a single hand.

"Nice try, Constantine," Charlie called out, throwing the discus back to the other end where two of his co-workers were playing. "But you have to do better to catch me off guard."

"I see you still have your top-notch Seeker skills," Abby pointed out as Charlie picked up his bags from the sidewalk. "You know, England would have paid you well if you decided to take their offer, but no. Mr Weasley had to go chasing dragons."

"If I remember correctly, someone at school was also a fairly good Beater," Charlie rebuked, nudging Abby as he walked past her, "but she decided she wanted to be a Healer instead."

"Come on," Abby rolled her eyes, throwing her head back to get her hair out of her face. "You were a better Seeker than I was a Beater. England never offered me a job batting Bludgers in the Qudditch league. Not that I wanted them to."

"You could have done it though," Charlie complimented. "I swear, the entire time you played for Gryffindor, I never once got hit by a stray Bludger."

Charlie stopped on the path, right where it crossed with another stone walkway leading up to a brick building, one of the sleeping quarters for the workers. He turned and took the other path, letting Abby walk alongside him as they entered the building through a set of grand oak doors.

"This is the girls building," he said to her, pointing outside the open doors. "The two others are strictly male. The one right across from this one is mine. I'm in Room 205 in case you ever need to find me."

"Good to know," Abby replied as she started to make her way up the stairs with her bags.

Ascending two flights of rickety metal stairs, the two found the third floor and walked down the blue-carpeted corridor until they found the room door with the number 317 written in bronze metal on it. Removing the key from her jeans pocket, Abby placed it in the doorknob keyhole and turned clockwise until it unlocked, letting the door swing open on the hinges.

**A/N:** The description for the dragon reserve, a white house with blue shudders and a veranda around it, is slightly based off of a description from the movie, The Notebook. It's probably in the book too, but I've only seen the movie. Also, the image for Herbert Wilde is based off of Trading Spaces decorator, Frank Bielec.

Mini cliffhanger. Not a big one. I don't think it would kill to wait. Enjoy!


	4. Chapter Three: Bella

**Chapter Three: Bella**

Steadily Abby stepped through a small thin corridor that housed two closets, one on each of her sides, and wandered into a standard sized room. There was one window lying ajar right in the middle of the white wall opposite the door, letting a warm breeze slide through the room. There were two beds, two desks, and two bookshelves, arranged in different places on each side to differentiate the space, though the major distinction as to which side was occupied was the young woman sitting at the desk on the left with an open book in her palms.

"Hi Bella," Charlie greeted immediately, not even taking a second glance, as he walked in behind Abby, standing just behind the shoulder of his old friend.

Immediately, the woman at the desk looked up from her book and turned to face the direction of the voice addressing her. Loads of wavy dark brown hair had been swept into a ponytail protruding from the back of her head, swirling around and falling on one shoulder as she turned rapidly. The light of the sun made her fair skin glow bright while her hazel eyes looked as though they had just come out of a deep dream, though they quickly began to sparkle in delight when she saw Charlie.

"Ciao Charlie," she exclaimed happily, rising to her feet. Standing tall, she was an inch shorter than Abby, though more curvaceous where Abby was slender. Smoothing out the wrinkles in her neatly pressed pants and blue sweater, she looked at the unfamiliar woman in the room curiously. "And who might this be?"

"Oh, I'm Abigail Ridges," Abby said immediately holding her hand out, feeling the need to introduce herself to her own roommate. "Herb said I could share this room with you."

"Oh," the woman beamed, taking a step forward with her arm extending outward, "how love..."

Stumbling suddenly on her own two feet, the girl toppled looking worried as she began to fall forward. She only caught her balance and prevented the impact with the carpet by grasping the shoulders of her new roommate.

"Are you all right?" Abby asked, taking the woman by the arms and placing her upright in front of her.

"Oh, I'm fine," she responded casually with a small laugh, brushing her ponytail aside and smoothing the sleeves of her shirt. "I'm sorry about that, bad first impression. It happens all the time to me. Clumsy Mirabella Ribisi, but Bella for short."

"So, I'll let you two get acquainted," Charlie announced, automatically getting the female's attention as he clapped his hands together and made his way towards the door, waving as he went. "I'll see you later."

The door shut behind him with a click as Bella sat down at the end of her bed, which was placed farther from the window than the other. She crossed her legs, putting her folded hands neatly in her lap as Abby threw her suitcase and knapsack onto her own clean white bedcovers.

"So, Bella," Abby tried to get conversation going, looking at her new roommate with her green eyes as she unzipped her suitcase, "what sort of work do you do here?"

"Well, I'm a researcher," Bella answered with a smile, shrugging her shoulders slightly as she spoke. "I'm currently doing a study on behaviours in the Peruvian Vipertooth. I want to write a book about the variations of behaviour in dragons."

"Wow," Abby exclaimed, her eyes widening as she nodded. "That's impressive. Lots of observations, I guess."

"Well, yes," Bella nodded. Before she could say another word, she stopped, slapped her head with a resounding smack and sighed, rising to her feet. "I'm such an idiot. Here I am rambling on about work, and I should be helping you unpack."

"Oh, I'm fine!" Abby insisted as Bella walked towards her. "I don't have much stuff, so there's not much to unpack."

"Nonsense," Bella said, taking a short light-coloured wand out of her pants pocket. "We're roommates, and it would be my pleasure to help."

With a flick of her wand, the closet door on Abby's side of the room shot open and with another twist of the wrist, clothing hangers rushed out, suspended in midair. Bella turned to the suitcase lying open on the bed. With another swish of the stick, Abby's clothes unrolled themselves, flew across the room, and neatly draped themselves over the hangers appropriately. Every t-shirt, sleeveless, sweater, and jacket neatly filed into the space arranged by colour, while pants, shorts, and unmentionables folded neatly in the closet shelving and trainers lined up perfectly on the bottom.

"Impressive," Abby gasped as she stared in awe, walking over to her newly organized closet. "I've never tried that spell before and I've really never had my closet be this neat. I was just going to do it by hand."

"Well, it is much faster and more efficient this way," Bella smiled as she observed her handiwork. "It's a handy little spell."

Abby nodded as she turned to put her other things away, when she noticed the many pictures that decorated every inch of Bella's wall above her bed. Stepping closer for a good look, the photographs on the wall were like a timeline of Bella's life. There were moving pictures of her childhood, dressed in bright costumes and fairy wings, of her school years, posing with a multitude of friends while waving and blowing kisses, others of beautiful backdrops, and some of magical creatures roaming about in lush hills of green grass.

"Have you been to Italy?" Abby asked, looking closely at a picture of Bella standing in front of the scene of what seemed to be the leaning tower of Pisa.

"I am from Italy," Bella answered, looking at her wall with pride sparkling in her eyes. "I was born and raised in the countryside outside Florence. My mother owns a Puffskein farm out there."

Bella leaned across her bed and pointed to a small photograph of a single two-story house against the scene of green trees and grass. There were many specks of custard coloured balls all along the grassy lawn, which at first glance looked like yellow flowers from a distance, until they were clearly moving along in the picture not by any wind motion. They were living creatures, Puffskeins.

"She bred them specially to be pets for children, and she does a lot of international trading," Bella explained, clasping her hands together and sighing as she gazed longingly at the scene of home. "She always did like creatures, and I suppose that's where I get it from."

"It looks like a lovely home," Abby commented, giggling a bit as the little balls of yellow fur bounced up and down and into each other in the photo.

"It is," Bella replied as Abby crossed the room. "Mama figured it was the most beautiful place in all Italy when she bought it, but there I go rambling again. What's your family like? Do you have siblings?"

"I have one younger sister, Annabelle," Abby answered as she fished a roll of parchment paper and a box of quills from her bag. "Actually we're half sisters, but we've grown up together all our lives, so it doesn't really make a difference."

"I always wished I had a little sister or brother," Bella sighed as she sat down on her bedspread again, hugging a nearby pale pink pillow. "It would have made growing up more fun to have someone to play with, or teach spells to and that sort of stuff."

"Well, I couldn't really teach her spells," Abby confessed, shoving a few thick leather bound books onto her shelf above the desk. "I'm the only witch in the family, everyone else is normal."

"Oh, you're Muggleborn," Bella restated, leaning her chin on the pillow as she gave it a squeeze. "My father is a Muggle. It must have been quite a surprise to learn you were a witch."

"It explained a lot," Abby replied taking a seat at her wooden desk to place the parchment and quills into the top drawer. "My mum was even more surprised. She thought it was a joke at first, but after about eight letters showed up at the door, she believed, and fainted in the middle of our flat."

"What a story," Bella giggled, leaning the back of her head onto the wall. "I knew I was a witch my whole life, and I can't imagine life without magic in it. I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be thrust into a world you don't know of. Mind you, living here in Romania was sort of like that, leaving the farm to come out and study dragons. What do you think of Romania so far?"

"Well," Abby began, looking from her seat at the one window leading into the courtyard between the dormitories, "it is beautiful, and I think I'll definitely like it here."

- - -

The door opened with a sudden slam against the wall as Charlie shoved his bag into the room. Kicking it with his foot, the bag slid to the side of the door next to the wardrobe closets, allowing him to get in and close the door behind him.

"Must you make noise coming in," a voice from inside the room spoke groggily.

"I didn't know you got back so quickly, Simeon," Charlie replied without even looking to see who was in the room, recognizing his friend merely by voice. He turned towards the closest and picked up his bag from the floor. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Simeon answered from his place on the top of the bunk bed as he rubbed the sand from his eyes, "vas just resting my eyes and vaiting for you to return so I could tell you that ve have the early shift tomorrow starting at seven."

"Okay," Charlie said as he began to unload his piles of clean clothes into his closest in an unorganized fashion, stacking them on top of each other without care of what went where. "At least with early shift we have the afternoon free to plan for the project."

"Ah yes, Project Tournament," Simeon nodded, his arms cradling his head on the pillow. "You met vith the Ministry in England?"

"They gave me details about what they wanted, and I forwarded them to Herb," Charlie clarified as he shut the door to his closet. "He wants Shane, Colin and me to be in charge of the route planning, since we all went to Hogwarts. We have to work out how to get there with a good route, and minimum interference with Muggle cities in a certain amount of time. It's going to take a lot of work to plan that part alone, and there's still the matter of choosing and transporting the dragons."

"Vell, ve have the time to plan," Simeon replied coolly.

Charlie sighed as he took his seat at the desk, hanging his knapsack over the chair, and pulled out a piece of parchment, black ink, and a worn-out pheasant quill from the drawer. Unscrewing the cap on the inkbottle and dipping the quill in, he poised himself over the parchment and began to write.

_Dear Mum and Dad,  
Just an owl to tell you I've arrived safely here in Romania. I hope everyone is well. Hopefully the Ministry will cease to be under fire soon and dad and Percy can relax a little (though I doubt Percy will). I expect to see you soon.  
All my love,  
Charlie_

"Remind me to send this letter to mum off after dinner," Charlie told Simeon as he rolled up the yellow parchment and tied it shut with a piece of string. "If I don't, my mum might think I've been kidnapped by gypsy sorcerers or something."

"I do not understand vhy you must say you have arrived safe," Simeon said as he turned to his side on the top bunk. "You are a grown man, and you have lived avay from home for four years and arrived safe every time."

"It's just a mum thing," Charlie replied as he twisted the cap back onto his inkbottle. "She always needs to know all seven of her babies are safe and sound. My parents aren't like yours. I don't think you've ever written home to say you were okay."

"I never leave here," Simeon scoffed sarcastically as he sat up, running his hand through his messy hair. "If I never go anyvhere else, they do not need to know I have come back safe."

"Fair enough," Charlie shrugged as he shoved his possessions back into the desk and stood up. Stretching out his spine, he walked towards the window next to the bunks and looked outside at the beautiful day, wondering if he should return to throw discus with his other coworkers.

"So, did you get Abby settled?" Simeon asked as he jumped down from the bed and searched the ground for a pair of socks.

"Didn't really need to," Charlie replied casually, watching the purple Frisbee cross the air of the courtyard. "I just left her in the capable hands of Bella."

"Bella?" Simeon echoed, looking up from the ground.

"Yeah," Charlie smirked at his friend as he leaned his arm up against the windowsill. "She's friendly, and I trust that she'll get Abby settled in and comfortable."

"Of course, of course," Simeon muttered as he nodded along. "Bella is very friendly like that. She vill do vell."

"Come on then," Charlie ushered towards the door, stepping over Simeon as he spoke, giving his head a scratch. "Grab some shoes and we'll go toss the discus before dinner."

Looking back at his friend on the floor, Charlie noticed a brown envelope sitting on the pillow of his bed. It was sealed in black wax, and bulging in the corners. Turning to Simeon, Charlie pointed at the mysterious envelope.

"Who left that?" Charlie inquired, strutting over to his bed and taking a seat there, placing the heavy letter in his lap.

"I did," Simeon answered, finding a pair of black socks beneath the desk. "It is the ten Galleons I owe you for the bet, the Quidditch Vorld Cup."

Charlie broke the seal on the envelope and poured the contents into his palm. Just as promised, ten heavy golden Galleons fell into his hand. Spilling onto his lap, Charlie stared at the amount of money, bewildered.

"Simeon, I wasn't serious about the bet," Charlie shook his head, still looking at the gold. "I can't accept this."

"Do not vorry about it," Simeon shrugged off as he grabbed a pair of black shoes from his closet and slipped into them. "We made a bet, and you von. If you had lost, I vould have expected my money, so it is yours to keep. End of story."

As Simeon tied the laces on his shoes, Charlie could do nothing except stare at the amount of gold. He had never had so much spare pocket money at one given time as before he had always used Sickles and Knuts instead. As he poured the Galleons back into the envelope, still bewildered, he couldn't help but mutter quietly, "Thanks Simeon."

"Vell, I am ready now," Simeon said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Let us go throw the Frisbee. You need to show Zuberi and Constantine how it is really done."

**A/N:** Once in a while, words may pop up in different languages. I will always provide translations in these notes. _Ciao_ is a versatile Italain term, in this case used for "hi."  
Hope you're all liking it so far. I know updates are few and far between, but I am reformatting these as well, and I've been quite busy.


	5. Chapter Four: The International Mess Hal

**Chapter Four: The International Mess Hall**

"Dinner is always at seven o'clock," Bella explained as she led Abby towards the mess hall weaving her way through the crowded corridors, excusing herself with a small smile to people as she passed. "Lunch is at noon and breakfast starts at six in the morning, though that's usually for the keepers on early shift. I know it continues to be served until much later in the morning for those who do the night shifts."

Abby nodded absentmindedly as she gazed around the corridors. Looking at the many different faces of people leaning against the wall and chatting amongst themselves as she walked along, she couldn't help but take notice of the variety of unique cultures and foreign languages surrounding her, catching the odd whisper in a new tongue entering the cavity in her ear.

"This is a really international place, isn't it?" she observed out loud to Bella as they passed a few boys kicking around a small brightly coloured beanbag.

"Oh yes," Bella nodded as she walked and talked. "People from all over the planet come here to study, care for and breed dragons. You'll find that there's probably someone from every country in the world here, and we take a lot of pride in that. It's really an achievement to see all these people from different nations come together, regardless of religion, race, gender, or blood purity, and be united for the single passion of dragons."

"That is quite the achievement," Abby sighed as she continued to walk towards the mess hall, looking over the crowds for a familiar shock of red hair.

"Simeon," Bella called out, waving towards the shaggy dark haired man that had just come into her view. "Simeon, over here."

In barely any time at all the slender figure of Simeon weaved himself through the crowds, easefully dodging people and slipping into narrow openings along the way. With his face glistening with a light spray of sweat, he brushed the backside of his hand against his forehead, sweeping away his wild mane for the rare glimpse of his dark liquid eyes as he wiped the perspiration off.

"Hello, Miss Bella," he nodded as his hands dashed to their normal place in his pockets, leaving his hair to fall back over his pupils. "Hello, Miss Ridges."

"Oh Simeon," Bella giggled heartily, covering her wide grin full of white teeth, "you know you can just call me Bella, no need for such formality. We've known each other for years now."

"Sorry, Miss Bella," Simeon replied, hanging his head, making Bella continue to laugh loudly.

"What's all the laughing about?" asked Charlie as he popped his own sweaty head around from behind Simeon. "Oh, Abby! How are you finding things so far? "

"So far, so good," Abby replied over Bella's chuckle.

"So, your roommate isn't too annoying yet?" Charlie joked.

"Hey!" Bella responded, pretending to be taken back with his comment. "I resent that remark."

Before Charlie could go further with his taunting, the sound of a bell being rung echoed off the walls as a set of doors only a few metres away opened. The moment that the ringing ceased, the many people began to file their way through the doors in a single line, keeping close to friends as they continued to talk.

"Dinner!" Charlie exclaimed, making his way towards the line-up. "Not a moment too soon, I'm starved. Come on, we don't want to get the cold stuff."

Taking a place in line behind Charlie, the group made their way into the mess hall, slowly shuffling in as others moved along. Following suite of the others in front, they grabbed trays, utensils, and plates, carrying them along as they approached the metal countertop.

"Smells like lasagne," Bella announced taking in a deep breath with her eyes shut.

As promised by Bella's nose, laid out on the counter before them were trays upon trays of tantalizing lasagne of meat and vegetarian variety, each one seeming to call out to be tasted and declared delicious. While people stopped in front of trays to admire the lovely cuisine, a silver serving spoon would scoop a piece for them and neatly place it on their plate, sending them on their merry way to eat.

"You've really outdone yourself, Nisha," Charlie called out beyond the counter just as a spoon gave him his portion.

Abby looked up from her gaze at the self-serving spoons to see that there was a dark woman behind the counter holding a large pan of lasagne in her hands. She bowed her head at Charlie's compliment, giving him a small smile as she removed an empty tray to replace it with a full one.

"Abby, this is Nisha Wilde, Herb's wife and the mastermind chef behind every meal here," Charlie introduced.

Nisha merely nodded, waving politely as the golden bangles on her wrist jingled lightly. She looked at Abby with her large dark eyes, not uttering a word from her closed tight lips, as she smiled.

"Your food looks delicious," Abby complimented, giving a thumbs up sign as the spoon in front of her gave her a slice of vegetarian lasagne.

Nisha bowed her head again, a few loose strands of long wavy dark hair escaping from her hairnet. With the ding of her oven timer in the background, she waved her hand goodbye and whisked away into the kitchen to retrieve the next pan.

"Come on Abby," Charlie called, waving to his friend in the line. "I want to introduce you to some people."

Turning around towards the dining area, there were tables of assorted sizes spread out through the room. In the middle were several long tables with benches as seats, big enough to seat at least ten people on each side. To the window there were smaller round tables for no more than four or five, while against the walls there was room for at least six. Scurrying over as fast as her legs could carry her, Abby met Charlie as he stood at the end of one of the longer tables, already half filled with people.

"Abby, these are some of the dragon keepers from my division here, my closest co-workers," Charlie explained, gesturing towards the few that had taken seats and dug into their meals already. "Constantine Baptiste from Greece." 

"_Kharika gia ti gnorimia_," an olive-skinned man waved from his seat closest to Charlie. "Or, nice to meet you."

"Next to him is Zuberi Roberts, from Tanzania."

"Pleasure," said a clean-shaven man with a gold earring in his left ear, bowing his head as a forkful of cheese went into his mouth.

"Then there's Sebastian Linden from Germany, Colin Aiken from Scotland, Jan Penders from Holland, and the only lady who dares to dragon keep on the reserve, Valerie Walters from the United States of America," Charlie pointed out going around the table as people waved over their plates and greeted her with mouthfuls of food.

"Very nice to meet you all," Abby finally spoke after everyone had been introduced, giving everyone a smile.

"Sit down with us," Constantine said out loud as Bella and Simeon approached the table. "Everyone move! Make room for them! Move!"

Without argument, everyone at the table slid their seats and trays to the side, making more room at the end for the four to sit. Charlie and Simeon sat on one side of the bench while Abby and Bella took the places directly across, putting their trays down in front of them getting ready to eat at last.

"So Charlie," Zuberi said, leaning over the table to look at his co-worker as he took his first bite of dinner, "Herb says you're the one with full details on Project Tournament. Are we going to have a meeting about that?"

"Yeah," Charlie answered, covering his mouth before he could spray the chewed contents everywhere. "I'll be holding one tomorrow afternoon. I told all the team leaders, so anyone who wants to participate in organizing it is welcome to come out. If we have too many though, first priority goes to the alumni of Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang."

"Project Tournament?" Abby raised her eyebrow at her friend across the table as Zuberi turned back to his food.

"Just a little project we're doing for a big event at Hogwarts this year," Charlie teased slyly while pouring a glass of pumpkin juice for himself, waving the information in front of her nose without telling her.

"The Triwizard Tournament," Constantine spoke out in his booming voice before Abby could move to hit Charlie, ending the tension.

"Really?" Abby gasped in shock, her green eyes widening as her body leaned in. "That hasn't been around for centuries."

"I know," Charlie beamed proudly, sipping from his glass, "but they decided to renew the old tradition by hosting it at Hogwarts, and the reserve is taking a small part in planning for the historic event."

"Amazing," Abby sighed, shaking her head. "Shame it couldn't have come back while we were in school. We were born a few years too early, I suppose."

"At least you get to root for your alma mater," Bella softly moaned as she shoved her fork down into her lasagne, taking a small chunk out of it. "My school wasn't around when the tournament was established, and the only competition with another school we get is an annual broom race against Sparticus School in Greece. I really wished they would allow the other smaller European schools to compete. Pulitobevanda could be a major threat."

"I've never heard of Pulitobevanda," Abby voiced, shoving another forkful of food into her mouth.

"It's a lovely school for the Italian wizards and witches," Bella began to explain, "and unfortunately not as old or large or well-known as Hogwarts or Durmstrang or Beauxbatons, but just as good in education, and it's a fact that we produce some of the finest Potion Masters on the planet. I just really wish we could compete too."

"Well, best root for Hogwarts anyway, Bella," Charlie said as he munched on his dinner, "because the Hogwarts champion going to take the tournament. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang don't stand a chance."

"And not only will Hogwarts beat the other schools," Abby added as she took a gulp from her glass, "but it will be a Gryffindor champion to do the beating."

"Right on, Abby," Charlie punched the air in agreement. "It has to be a Gryffindor. I can't imagine any other house stepping up to the challenge. Only Gryffindor has the courage to go through."

"Do not underestimate Durmstrang too quickly, Charlie," Simeon finally spoke up for the first time that evening. "They produce good strong students, and they are fighters. Do not think ve are an easy fight." 

"So, I guess you'll be rooting for Durmstrang then, Simeon?" Abby asked rhetorically, scooping another forkful up to her lips.

"Then perhaps I shall place my faith in Beauxbatons," Bella smirked, flipping her ponytail of wavy hair, "just to be different from you lot."

"It'll be your loss," Charlie shrugged mockingly, compressing his laughter as he cut out another piece of his meal. "Hogwarts isn't called the finest wizardry school in Europe for no reason. You'll just have to see for yourselves once the tournament gets underway."

"Then, to the Triwizard Tournament," Abby declared, raising her glass of pumpkin juice above her head and towards the ceiling. "May the best school win."

"To the Triwizard Tournament!" Bella, Simeon, and Charlie echoed, putting their glasses up to Abby's with a clink, though Simeon's mutter was barely audible by anyone.

At once all four of them drank the contents of their cups, draining them of liquid by throwing their heads back in a great gulp. Instantly, a quick belch emitted from Abby's lips as the pumpkin juice hit the centre of her stomach, sending her hand to cover it up all too late as the end of the table became quiet. 

"Excuse me," she apologized, her cheeks turning pink in embarrassment.

Charlie couldn't help but snort in laughter, putting his face in his hands unable to control himself. Bella followed, trying to hide her little giggles without much success as they escaped from her already wide grin. Contagious as it was, the laughter spread over the table, sending everyone into convulsions of laughs, though only the four at the end truly knew why they had begun in the first place.

- - -

"Do you still know the Hogwarts school song?" Charlie enquired as the group of four exited the main building and headed into the courtyard, walking just beneath a covered awning made of vines and flowers.

"Of course," Abby scoffed, taking in a deep breath as if she was about to scream. "_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, teach us something please_!"

"Stop!" Charlie commanded, cupping his hand over Abby's mouth. "By Merlin, you sang bad then, and you sing bad now. I swear, you're part banshee."

"You're no better," Abby laughed, throwing his hand off of her, walking backwards to face Charlie as she spoke. "I recall Bill having to place a quieting charm on you during the welcoming feast just so no one could hear you going flat on every note."

"Hey Weasley! Slovensky!" a tall man called from across the courtyard. "We're having a quick game of Quodpot in the Quidditch pitch before bed, you in?"

"We're on early shift tomorrow, sorry," Charlie called back, waving. "Perhaps another night."

Walking down the path, they had reached the crossroad where the walkways to the different dormitories separated into two distinct routes. The sun low in the horizon was the sign that they should be off to bed for the early start at the crack of dawn.

"Goodnight ladies, and sweet dreams," Simeon said curtly with a small bow, his hands still in his pockets as he diverted his gaze towards his own dormitory.

"Goodnight Simeon," Bella said in a light singsong voice, letting her hand lightly touch his shoulder before she moved towards hugging Charlie. "And goodnight Charlie."

"See you tomorrow," Abby said as she wrapped one arm around Charlie before quickly following Bella towards the door, waving as she walked. "Pleasant rest."

"Night," Charlie called out, watching the girls as they vanished behind the doors and headed for their room. Trailing behind Simeon, Charlie walked away from the crossroad toward his own dormitory and a night's rest.

- - -

"Shall I vake you at six, as usual?" Simeon asked as he crawled into his place on the top bunk, kicking off his shoes as they fell the long way to the floor. "I do not know if you shall be lagged or not."

"Wake me if I'm not up before you," Charlie answered as he sat down at the desk in his pyjama pants and shirt.

"As long as you do not sleep until I sleep," Simeon replied, pulling his black fleece blanket over himself as he lay down on the pillow. "I can not sleep if you start snoring."

"Yeah, yeah," Charlie shrugged as he pulled his backpack onto his desk, pouring the contents of it out. "Go to sleep already."

Without another word, Simeon rolled over to face the plain white wall and lay still as Charlie began to sort through the random things in his backpack. Spare parchment went into his desk with the rest of the roll, while his money pouch went back into the bag and crumpled lint went into the dustbin. A box containing his new dragon hide gloves from Diagon Alley also held his souvenir from the Quidditch World Cup, his Irish green rosette. Taking it out of its safe keeping spot, Charlie set it aside to be hung over his bottom bunk alongside his old Gryffindor flag and Prefect badge.

It was fast work going through his knick-knacks and sorting them into appropriate spots, and in only a matter of minutes, Charlie once again flung his cleaned out sac over the chair, only to have a brown envelope flying out of a flap he rarely ever used. Catching it in midair, he swirled back around to the desk and opened it up to reveal whatever it contained.

Clearly his mother's doing, Charlie held in his hands a photograph of his whole family, taken just that summer while he had been visiting the Burrow. His one and only sister and the youngest at thirteen Ginny, was sitting on the den floor with the next youngest, Ron. Both of them looked as though they were just glancing up for the picture during a game of wizard's chess. Fred and George, the twins, sat on the couch together, making very amusing faces at the camera, much to their mother's dismay as she sat next to them in an armchair, scowling and telling them to pose nicely for the picture. Bill, the only brother older than Charlie, sat next to the twins, his dragon fang earring illuminated against the ponytail of shocking red hair. Behind the couch, Percy stood with their father, Mr Weasley with his arm around his son. It looked as though both of them were just about to head off for work at the Ministry by the way they were dressed. Last of all, Charlie himself stood next to his father, looking much darker than everyone else because of his tan and freckles. As everyone moved about in the picture, waving every now and then, Charlie couldn't help but smile at the thought of home.

Opening up a drawer in his desk, he pulled out an old brown leather photo album, and quickly flipped to the first empty page, slipping the newest photograph there before turning to the very front, where there were pictures of himself as a child, back when his family had been just one older brother and his parents. He had much less freckles as a young child, and Bill had kept short hair at the time as well, though his brother wouldn't like to be reminded of that time. Moving forward he watched his family grow larger with each passing year, smiling as he stopped at pictures of the twins, always getting into trouble in every shot.

Finally there were pictures of his Hogwarts days, getting on the Hogwarts Express and playing Quidditch as a Seeker, and his most famed picture, holding the Quidditch Cup high above his head with his fellow teammates around him. Charlie hadn't looked at his old pictures in years, but next to him, with a beater bat slung over her shoulder, was young Abby Ridges, cheering and jumping into the air as they celebrated their victory over Ravenclaw house.

Taking the picture out of it's setting in his album, he set it aside with his rosette as the book went back into it's place in his desk. Picking up the two items and his wand, Charlie stuck a quick sticking charm on both of them, and pushed them onto the wall above his bed. Stepping back to admire his handiwork, Charlie realised that Simeon had begun to snore softly, meaning he could finally go to bed himself.

"Nox," he whispered to the light on the wall as it faded out quickly, leaving the room in shadows. Crawling beneath the sheets of his own bed, he rest his head on the white pillow cases and closed his brown eyes, drifting slowly into deep sleep.

**A/N:** Another chapter, and I have somethings to translate. Though it is already in the text, _Kharika gia ti gnorimia_ means "nice to meet you" in Greek. _Pulitobevanda_, the name of Bella's Italian school, translates directly to "genuine potion." It's fully called _La Serra Pulitobevanda_, The Conservatory of Genuine Potions.  
And another chapter completed. Hope you're digging.


	6. Chapter Five: Fireballs, Friendships and

**Chapter Five: Fireballs, Friendship and Fiancés**

Soft wisps of pink and yellow sunlight awoke Charlie before Simeon had the chance to lift an eyelid. Though the day promised to be bright and sunny, it had begun too soon, which made for one very groggy Weasley. After pulling Simeon out of his bed and getting dressed, the two dragged their feet out of the dormitory, yawning every few steps, and into the mess hall for a spot of breakfast before work.

"Extra strong coffee today, please," Charlie told Nisha as he rubbed one eye, the other watching a spatula place two large blueberry pancakes onto his plate.

Obliging immediately, Nisha walked over to her table and poured the darkest pot's contents into a mug for Charlie, smiling sympathetically to the tired dragon keeper as he shuffled away to the nearest table. The rest of the team was already seated, drinking deeply from their cups of coffee and nearly ignoring the fluffy array of pancakes in front of them.

"What are we up to today?" Constantine asked sleepily once his mug of coffee had been drained as Zuberi looked at a clipboard bearing their schedule for the morning shift.

"Looks like we're collecting dung samples from the Romanian Longhorns caves, and then monitoring the activity of the Chinese Fireballs while the researchers make observations," Zuberi announced, throwing the clipboard onto the table and running his hand over his smooth bald head. "Pretty tame morning."

"Good thing," Simeon commented as he took a large bite out of his chocolate chip pancake, nearly devouring the entire thing in one bite.

Nearly everyone was close to falling asleep right on the table, the caffeine rush of the coffee not taking full effect yet. As Charlie rested his head on his palm, twirling his fork of blueberry pancake around, the only thought consuming him was that of a nap during his lunch break, after work and before his meeting. Without warning, a fist slamming onto the table right next to him awoke him from his trance. Glancing up from the hand, glazing over a long tanned muscular arm, and across a broad shoulder, Charlie's drowsy eyes were looking at the face of a very awake and ready Valerie Walters.

"Hurry up," Valerie commanded as everyone's attention went to her words. "Our shift starts in less than ten minutes, we'd better get moving. Leave the food and let's go."

On command everyone arose from their chairs, some still drinking the last of their coffee, and headed for the mess hall doors. Valerie led the way, clomping along the corridors in her heavy boots and desert camouflage army pants, as everyone else trudged along far behind, still waiting for the boost of energy from sweet caffeine.

In silence, the team entered the equipment room and immediately went into their routine of spreading out in search of the items they would need, knowing exactly where they would find them. Together, Charlie and Simeon snatched bundles of charmed unbreakable rope from hooks on the wall, enough for everyone to take. Heading back into the middle of the room, they placed each bundle down individually in a straight line before taking their places in front of two sets. Other items dropped in front of them as they stood in their place and their co-workers lined up in a neat straight file with them, waiting for the usual instructions.

"Check all your equipment," Valerie called out once everyone had gotten into position. "If any piece is malfunctioning, you must report it immediately. Do not attempt to fix it."

It was like any other shift with the routine equipment check, and as usual it was an all clear as everyone strapped on their utility belts, hanging their ropes, hooks, and other trinkets along the loops and buckles. Fastening the belts tightly and assuring everything was in place, it was time for action.

The wide backdoor to the equipment room opened, and the team filed out in a straight line, following Valerie towards the gate, the barrier between the wizards and the dragons. All around the dragon's spacious domain was a tall towering brick wall, thick enough to withstand any creature that dared to try and tackle it. Straight ahead lay the ironclad door, surrounded by a sparkling hazy blue mist that was unmistakably a powerful charm, and on either side of the gate were stairs leading up the wall to a walkway lying between it, specifically for the night watch shift.

Stopping at the gate, Valerie withdrew her wand, and forcefully stabbed the tip into the lock. Without having to mutter a spell, the blue mist began to shrink, the wand absorbing the protective charm out of the lock. Rapidly the charm faded from the iron-gate, and once the mist had vanished, the lock gave a subtle click. The gate swung open with a mighty groan, revealing a long stretch of lush grass and tall rocky mountains in the near distance. Already in the sky, a pair of Vipertooths had already begun to circle around their caves, stretching their powerful wings in the early morning air. Everyone stopped and watched in awe, suddenly being awake either from the caffeine finally boosting their energy, or the magnificent sight before them. Either way, it was still an amazing scene to behold.

"Well, those dung samples won't collect themselves," Valerie interrupted her crew with her booming voice, pulling an extendable shovel from her belt. "You all know what to do, so let's get on with it. Faster we start, the faster it's over."

"Do you remember the nose plug charm?" Charlie whispered to Simeon as they began to trek towards the caves.

Without a word, Simeon withdrew his long linden wood wand from his belt, and flicked it towards the centre of his friend's face. A white spark flew up Charlie's nostrils, filling them with a tingling sensation, just before all air access was cut off there, and breathing through his mouth was a necessary thing. Swiftly he took in a lungful of air with no stench of dragon dung in it, and exhaled with satisfaction.

"Thanks," Charlie breathed as Simeon performed the charm on his own nose.

"Vas no problem," Simeon shrugged, pulling out his extendable shovel. "Let's just get to vork. I really don't like this part of the job."

- - -

The dewy daybreak air had begun to fade into a hot and sticky late morning by the time the team had finished shovelling dung out of the Longhorn caves and proceeded to monitoring Fireballs for the researchers. Just at the barrier, above the night watch wall was a small veranda where the members of the research department were standing, clipboards and quills in hand. Beneath it, Charlie, Simeon and a few of the other guys, escaped the heat while also spraying themselves with cold water, attempting to remove the smell of dung from their working clothes.

"You still reek a bit, Charlie," Sebastian pointed out as his co-worker rinsed his clothed and soaped up body. "You'll need another blast with the soaping spell." 

Shaking some of the water from his eyes as cool water dripped down to the grass below, Charlie took his maple wood wand and pressed the tip to the very top of his soaking wet head. Streams of soap and bubbles began to ooze down his head, along his face, down his neck and body until he was covered in suds, in which the soap had been replaced by a blast of water. Once all the soap had been washed away, Charlie took a deep whiff of his shirt, which was no longer emitting a foul stench.

"Fireballs are being good today," Charlie commented, squeezing excess water from his dark red mane.

"Pretty tame morning," Jan sighed as he kicked off his shoes and lay in the shady grass.

With a small smile, Charlie left his space in the shade of the balcony and headed for the sunlight, hoping it would dry him off quickly. Already standing in the light was Simeon with his large locks of dripping hair, hanging limp over his eyes while gazing upwards at the researchers taking notes with a blank stare. Charlie directed his glance to the same balcony, counting the researchers to see how many had come to the morning observations.

"Have you got a plan for the meeting today?" Simeon asked as he ran his hand through his mane, trying to strike up conversation between himself and his closest co-worker.

"Just to run over the instructions from the Ministry, see who's planning to go, and perhaps get a team together to map the route to Hogwarts," Charlie answered with a shrug. "We have a few months, more time to discuss details as time draws nearer and a more definite team is assembled."

"No doubt transporting the dragons vill be a difficult task," Simeon expressed, lying back in the grass so his head rested in his arms.

"We'll think of something," Charlie scoffed without worry. "Even if we have to stun them every few hours, we'll find a way."

The sun beat down and dried the two men sitting beneath its glory fast, evaporating the moisture they carried rapidly. Slowly as the golden ball of light crossed the sky until it ceased to cast a shadow, they watched the Chinese Fireballs hover above them, flapping their long wingspan as their golden spikes gleamed along their tail.

- - -

The researchers had already wandered off the observation deck and back for the main building before the next shift workers arrived to feed the Fireballs. Passing over the belts of equipment to the next bunch while listening to Valerie's hollering to Tristan Porter about the team being late, which was "absolutely unacceptable," the men of the morning shift quickly scampered out of the dragon area, not wanting to listen to the ferocious screaming of their current crew leader.

"Does she ever relax?" Constantine asked, wiping the thin layer of hot sweat off his forehead. "I mean, all she's done for her past two weeks as team leader is yell at us, or at the other leaders."

"Or anyone who crosses her path," Colin added in, scratching his nose. "I can't wait until her term is up on Friday. After that we're free from her for a few months at the least. What a slave driver. Can't even finish breakfast without her screaming in your ear."

"You're next, you know, Charlie," Zuberi pointed out, diverting the talk away from complaints about their female co-worker. "Walters, and then Weasley."

"I'm aware," Charlie sighed, pushing the door back into the main building open and entering the corridor leading to the mess hall.

The line for food had already extended right out the door by the time the boys reached the mess hall. Filing into place behind a pack of researchers, Charlie waited his turn while listening to his co-workers continue to complain about the rigid attitude of Valerie Walters, watching as some people exited the hall with their lunches in hand.

"Vhat is being served?" Simeon asked, not seeing what was on the trays passing him through his bangs.

"Looks like sandwiches and salad," Charlie answered, peering down at a delicious tray of lunch as it walked by him in the hands of a researcher.

"Hello boys," a cheerful voice came from behind them.

Swirling his head back around, Charlie caught the glimpse of wavy dark brown hair bordering an oval face accompanied by the sweet smile associated with Bella. Carrying her tray with a cold turkey sandwich and fresh Greek salad, and a clipboard under her arm, she didn't dare move her hand to wave hello as her eyes met with Charlie and Simeon.

"Bella, how are you today?" Charlie responded quickly.

"Very well," Bella answered nodding her head. "Been a busy morning, and I've got to write out my formal lab report and file it before the researcher's meeting this afternoon. Silly me, I wrote my notes in Italian again, meaning I have to spend my lunch hour translating it. I'm heading back to the lab now."

"Have fun," Charlie said as Bella took a step forward, moving to head back to work, before stopping again.

"Oh shoot!" Bella cursed herself, stamping her foot down and wrinkling her forehead as a frown spread across her face. "I told Abby I'd bring her lunch, I completely forgot. Now I've got to line-up again, and I won't get my work done."

"Bella, I'm already in line," Charlie began sympathetically, stopping Bella on her way to the back of the line, "and I've got to go past the infirmary on the way to my meeting. I'll bring her up something, don't worry."

"Thanks Charlie!" Bella beamed brightly, bouncing on the balls of her feet, her clipboard falling to the ground as she released her hold on it.

"Let me help you, Miss Bella," Simeon offered as he bent down and grabbed her clipboard of papers and notes. "I can take this to the lab vith you."

"Thank you, Simeon, but that's all right," Bella grinned thoughtfully. "I don't want you to miss lunch just to carry my work."

"I'm not hungry," Simeon shrugged her objection off, getting out of line and walking down the hallway with her. "And vhat are friends for."

Charlie watched the two of his close friends begin their short journey to the laboratories of the reserve, quietly walking alongside each other as Simeon held Bella's research, and her lunch tray. Shaking his head and moving along the line, the redhead dragon keeper couldn't help but laugh to himself.

- - -

The infirmary was only a floor up and a short walk from the mess hall, identified by a large sign in bold black letters tacked above the door. With his hands laden with two trays of lunch, Charlie was lucky that the door was ajar and a light push with his foot was enough to send it swinging open without a creak to warn of his arrival.

Walking in, there were two rows of ten stationary beds, one row on each of his sides, each one fashioned with clean unwrinkled white sheets. Between the beds were wood cabinets filled with shelves of brightly coloured potions, each one with a neat yellow label to indicate what it was called. Normally the cabinets were closed unless there was a patient, so it was odd to see every single one open, some with potions uncorked along the ledge.

"Charlie!" a voice exclaimed from the corner of the room.

Sitting at a small desk at the end of the infirmary by the large open windows letting in sunlight was Abby, pouring what looked like bubbly orange juice from a brass cauldron into bottles. Her clear green eyes sparkled excitedly as she smiled at her friend and put the ladle down. Standing tall and straight, she began to take a few steps towards him, her braid of brunette hair trailing behind her. "What can I do for you?"

"I bear your chicken salad sandwich," Charlie explained with a small smirk, walking to Abby and handing her the tray holding her food.

"Thank you so much," Abby beamed gratefully, grabbing her lunch and nodding at the tantalizing sandwich in front of her. "Joining me for lunch?"

"That was the intention," Charlie nodded, following her back to her desk at the opposite side of the room. "Looks like you've been busy, potion making."

"Yeah," Abby sighed heavily. "A lot of the potions and antidotes in here were a bit out of date, so I just decided to go through and replace the ones that won't work anymore."

"Never understood these potions," Charlie muttered to himself, pausing at Abby's cauldron of thick orange liquid as she took her seat, using her wand to clean her hands.

"Only because you didn't want to continue into NEWT level," Abby joked, giving him a sarcastic glance as she shook her hands of excess water. "And the tiny fact that you never paid much attention to Professor Snape, drawing dragons in your book and looking at your watch the whole lesson."

"I don't get how you thought Potions was interesting," Charlie scoffed back, picking up his own BLT sandwich and taking a large bite out of it, causing a slice of tomato to escape from the other end and fall back onto his plate.

"It was like cooking," Abby shrugged her shoulders as she lifted her own sandwich to her lips. "Not too hard to do."

Charlie shook his head, chewing on his bit of bread, meat and vegetables. Placing the tomato slice back into its place between the bread and bacon, he swallowed and continued to talk. "So, Abby. I haven't had time to ask you, but what did you do after we left Hogwarts? I know you got accepted into the training at St. Mungo's and were there for a while, but what happened between Hogwarts and this moment? Tell me about what you've done these past...four years."

"Well, I got trained as a Healer for a year," Abby explained, wiping the mayonnaise from her mouth with her hand. "I was planning to work in the Creature-Induced Injuries ward, but then I found out about an extra program in Creature Healing, so I got into that."

"You're a Creature Healer too?" Charlie's eyes widened, stunned at the idea.

"Yeah, but I work more with humans," Abby replied casually, chewing on another piece of her sandwich. "There aren't a lot of jobs that need a Creature Healer, but it was something extra that I thought could be useful. Creatures need to be healed every now and then too."

"How did you turn that way, to creatures?" Charlie inquired, raising an eyebrow at Abby.

"Let's just say that spending endless hours with a friend who loved to help Hagrid with the school creatures inspired me," she teased, taking another bite of lunch, as she pointed her gaze towards Charlie.

"So, you were trained in that field of healing." He urged her to continue her story as he dipped a carrot stick into his dip.

"And, I got a job in the Hebrides on a much smaller dragon reserve, basically healing with people though," Abby sighed as she explained. "I don't think I saw a single dragon the whole time I worked there. Mind, I only worked part-time, I was engaged during my time there."

Charlie spit out the carrot bit he was chewing on back onto the plate, coughing as he gasped, "Engaged?"

Abby nodded as she ate the last bit of her sandwich, not attempting to answer with her mouth full of chicken.

"To who?" Charlie immediately asked without a second thought. "Someone I know? From school?"

"No," Abby answered orally, having swallowed her last bite. "A man I met while training at St. Mungo's, a Healer gone Ministry Worker. Darren Burdock Barton, my ex-fiancé."

"So, you were going to get married?" Charlie tried to confirm it for his own understanding, making sure he had heard his old friend correctly.

"Yeah, is it so hard to believe?" Abby asked her own question, raising her eyebrow slightly as she put her plate back onto her lunch tray.

"Why didn't you get married?" Charlie asked immediately, not bothering to respond to Abby's question.

"Well, he proposed," Abby began to add details as she drummed her hands on her lap, "and he decided he wanted to enter the Ministry of Magic shortly after we became engaged. Once he got there, he rose in rank rather quickly. We really didn't have time for each other as our careers couldn't compliment each other, and one day I realised he didn't love me anymore."

Abby stopped there, looking down at her hands resting silently in her lap, not daring her tongue to say more on the topic. Her old friend sat on the infirmary bed with a dumbfounded look on his face, still surprised over the story he had just listened to. He couldn't find the words to express the emotion of sympathy, though he badly wanted to be able to say something comforting and helpful as he drummed his fingers along his tray, trying to find those words on the tip of his tongue.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he finally pushed out through his lips after the moment of awkward silence.

"Well, there's nothing to be sorry over, so let's leave it at that" Abby shrugged off, giving him a small smile, as she resumed pouring the orange potion into bottles labelled as Burn Antidote. "On a happier note, what have you been up to since you left Hogwarts?"

"Just...this stuff," Charlie began to work back into a fluid conversation, as if the topic of Abby's previous romance hadn't arisen. "Working with dragons all year round, and pretty much that's been the only thing worth mentioning, really. Pretty straight forward, worked here and stayed here."

"At least you're consistent," Abby giggled as she corked the bottle in her hand.

"Some would call it a rut," Charlie commented with a groan, taking a bite out of his celery with a resounding crunch.

"But, a happy rut," Abby added her own twist, smiling coyly, her hands reaching for another empty bottle to fill. "You seem content here, and you can't deny that."

She was right in that aspect. Charlie knew it in his head, though it was a rut, it was one that he was quite glad to be in.

**A/N:** This must feel uneventful, cause there's nothing to really note in this chapter. If you want more information on dragons in the canon of Harry Potter, I suggest consulting Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them if you have access to one. That's how I got the information anyway.  
Hope you're enjoying this!


	7. Chapter Six: Mind Boggling

**abigail:** Thank you for your kind comment. I'm glad to hear you like it thus far. Thank you for replying.

- - -

**Chapter Six: Mind-Boggling**

_INTERNATIONAL: MAYHEM AT UK MINISTRY_

_  
United Kingdom - As if the Ministry didn't have enough to contend with over their issues of crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup incident_, writes Magda Orlov, UK Correspondent, _the troubles at the offices in London continue to escalate around the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, Arnold Weasley. _

Mr Weasley faces many serious questions over his judgement, or lack there of, in a situation involving famed retired Auror, Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, and several Muggle policemen. At rushing to the aid of the ex-Auror, Mr Weasley was forced to modify the memories of many policemen, causing more work in the Ministry, even though Mad-eye Moody had once again called in nothing of potential harm. In this very embarrassing situation, Mr Weasley declined to give any comment to his decision, leaving Ministry representatives believing that Mr Weasley is beginning to lose his sense. 

Charlie's fists tightened their grasp around the English edition of The Romanian Horn as he sat in the conference room, the newspaper crinkling under his grip. Slamming it onto the long table, he could not bear to direct his brown eyes at it another second, diverting his gaze to the shut windows of the darkened room. The late afternoon sunlight shone slightly through the thin curtains, the little bit of light glazing his freckled face, though his mind paid little attention to what was shining on him.

"Insane," he muttered to himself, running his hand through his red mane.

He looked down at his watch, reading the tiny moving silver suns only to realise he still had ten minutes to spare before his meeting with Herb began. It would be enough time to write the newspaper a strongly worded letter about getting facts as well as names right, and also tell them that there was no shame in answering false alarms, as anything could be of potential danger, and the Ministry of Magic was at the disposal of the magical community to investigate anything that could be harmful. Looking through his notes and papers from the first Triwizard Tournament meeting days ago, he scrounged for spare parchment to scribble his anger onto, only to have the door to the room open and the lights flip on.

"Ah, Charlie," Herb greeted with a friendly nod, holding his own folder against his bright orange and purple Hawaiian shirt, "good to see that you're prompt, as always."

"Good afternoon, Herb," Charlie stood straight up from his seat in formality as his jovial boss strutted towards him, shaking Herb's hand and leaving the search for parchment alone.

"Oh, The Romanian Horn," Herb exclaimed, noticing the national newspaper on the table as he fell into his seat next to Charlie. "Mind if I take that after, if you're done of course? Always fun to see how the Fitchburg Finches Quidditch season is going."

"Oh, sure," Charlie nodded without a second thought, not wanting to read the horrible article again anyway.

"So, let's see what you've assembled so far," Herb proclaimed, rubbing his hands together vigorously, ready to see Charlie's work. "I know you've only had one meeting, but you have the list of people partaking, am I right?"

"Yes, yes," Charlie answered, sitting down and pulling out the sign-up sheets, passing them to Herb immediately. "So many people were wanting to go with this project, but really I think we only need about twenty-five to thirty keepers, so I prioritised. Those who went to Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are definitely going, and from there it was just a random scroll down the list to pick a few people."

"Fair enough," Herb commented with a nod of approval, mouthing a few names quietly as he read. "Ardel Collins, Matthew Engles, Marek Krall, Aubert Legrand, Simeon Slovensky. That looks in order, and you have a list of substitutes should anyone back out, very prepared my boy."

Herb proudly patted Charlie on the shoulder, nodding his head with a large grin plastered between his white moustache and stubby beard. Handing the lists back, he stood straighter in his seat and pressed forward with his agenda. "Now, we need to get you some maps and charts so you can begin planning the route to Hogwarts with your team. I believe a visit to the archives is in order. Our library has all the maps you'll need. And you'll need to have the team select the dragon breeds that are going. Also, wouldn't hurt if you all began to draw up a tentative schedule. Think you can do all that in, say two weeks time?"

"I think that will be fine," Charlie nodded, quickly scribbling his tasks with a worn owl quill across the edges of an already used parchment.

"Excellent," Herb chortled heartily, rising from his chair and grabbing the newspaper and his folder. He gave Charlie another firm pat on the back, and looked down at the dragon keeper through the small spectacles balanced on his nose. "You're a good worker, Charlie boy. Keep it up. And you know if you need anything, all you need do is ask for it."

The boss turned to leave, bouncing along on his sandaled feet as he headed for the door while Charlie turned back to keep writing down his extra duties for the next two weeks, his head still swimming in all the facts. There was much to do in a short amount of time, on top of his keeping tasks. It was without question possible, but at the same time, it would require a lot of effort early on in their planning stage.

"Oh, Charlie!" Herb turned around before he could leave the room, alerting the young freckled man to look up from his parchment. "I suggest you head down to the archives soon if you want those maps this weekend. Miss Cohen will only be able to aid you for so long. She welcomes Queen Shabbat every Friday night, you know."

- - -

"Please hurry, Mr Weasley," Tamara Cohen walked hastily in front of Charlie as they sped down the researchers corridor, the keys in her hand jingling as she strode with a light bounce.

Passing by a few of the large windows that looked through the clean white laboratories and peered out into the scenery of the dragon area, the scene of a fast approaching sunset was showing vividly against a purple sky. Long shadows cast along the white walls as Charlie and Tamara strode along, barely having the time to notice the beauty shining through. Jogging behind the Head of the Research Department, Charlie attempted with little success to keep up with her long quick stride and merely followed the swish of her long blonde hair as it flowed behind her.

"Follow me," Tamara commanded as she stopped abruptly at one door just across from one of the laboratories. Whipping out a small gold-coloured key from her crowded chain, she automatically placed it into the slot and opened the door, so swift and quick it was almost as if it had been unlocked the whole time.

Flipping on the light switch, a large long room of bookshelves lay before Charlie and Tamara, a miniature library at their fingertips. Along every shelf as it stretched from one end of the room to the other, books, and scrolls of parchment sat neatly, waiting to be removed and used at the leisure of the researchers. Beneath every shelf section was a small bronze plate, detailing the precise information that was packed onto its space. Looking in a daze at the windowless room, the only thought in Charlie's mind was how the Hogwarts librarian, Madame Pince, would have loved the well-kept archives.

"I'll show you where we keep the maps, and then I'm afraid I must leave you to your own devices," Tamara explained, placing the thick black framed glasses from the thin string around her neck to their useful position in front of her sharp hawkish brown eyes. "Queen Shabbat fast approaches."

"I appreciate your help so close to the Sabbath," Charlie nodded graciously, following the blonde woman as she led the way once again. "I know you're a very busy person."

"This is where we keep the maps." Tamara pointed out a large shelf along the wall that was piled to the top with rolled up maps and charts, while ignoring Charlie's gratitude. "The ones that will be of service to you are labelled with a red dot as they are of Europe. Please do not deface these maps by writing or marking them. If you would like a copy to take out of the archives, please duplicate it magically." Tamara turned to face him, peering at him over her glasses with suspicion as her arms crossed over her chest. "Also, please observe the rules of our library, meaning no food or drink is to be consumed here, no defacing any material or furniture and please put material back where it was found. If you cannot remember, please leave it at the desk and one of researchers will find its place later."

"I shall," Charlie nodded, feeling the researcher's gaze piercing him like a hawk on its prey, almost as if she knew about the thin chocolate bar pressed between two pieces of parchment in his folder.

"Lock the door when you're done," Tamara finally approved, tossing him the single key from her set as she turned to leave, "and leave the key at the main office. If you need my help with anything, it will have to wait until Monday."

Before Charlie could say another word, let alone ask a question, Tamara Cohen had vanished out the door and back down the researchers corridor, the clicking of her heeled shoes fading into nothing as she trotted farther away. Alone in the archives, Charlie sighed, putting is folder beneath his arm and pulling some maps out of the shelves. He had quite a bit of work ahead of him.

- - -

The writing and marks on the map began to blur as Charlie's eyelids drooped slightly as he scanned over his work, trying to determine if the little dots and symbols on the map would be of any use to him. Slumping his body forward so his face hovered over the chart, he rested his chin in his palm. His eyelids became heavier, falling as his vision cut off into darkness. Quickly he threw his eyelids open again, hoping he could concentrate after the one-second rest. As he tried bringing his sight back into focus, he found there was little energy left in him to stay awake much longer.

"Charlie?" a soft voice came from behind him, whispering so that he only just heard it.

Turning his tired eyes away from the maps, squinting to see correctly, he looked to the open door behind him. There peering in was a face with green-coloured stare and a smile to match looking at him.

"Abby," Charlie greeted his visitor, placing one hand on the table and the other one the chair to push himself up to stand, not having any vigour to move otherwise. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought cocoa," Abby answered, pushing the door open wider to show a tray with two large cups of steaming hot liquid in her hands. "Courteously of Nisha from the kitchen. And looking at you, I think you need the pick-me-up."

"I can't drink or eat in here," Charlie shrugged, scratching his scalp as he spoke. "Archive rules."

"Come out than," Abby gestured him to walk the few metres into the corridor, "or I'll drink your cocoa."

Seeing a silly smirk spreading on her face, and thirsting for something to keep him awake another hour or so, Charlie dragged his feet across the few steps leading to the entranceway. Stepping over the border between the archive and the corridor, his hand snatched the closest mug of hot drink while his other hand held the doorframe for support. Pressing the warm porcelain cup to his lips, he took a light sip, letting the warmth dance along his tongue before it slipped down his throat, feeding his entire body with new energy as it flowed into him.

"Thank you," he sighed, leaning back into the wall and sliding down so he sat on the carpeted floor, closing his eyes and letting the warm sensation expand and fill him.

Abby's back slithered down the wall next to Charlie, her own warm cup of cocoa in her hand, pressed to her lips as she blew the steam away. "The least I can do for you bringing me lunch every day."

"True," Charlie nodded, watching as Abby took a sip from her own mug. "You owe me."

He caught a glimpse of Abby's teasing evil glare, looking at him over her cocoa cup. With a sly grin, he turned to the laboratory window across from the archive. Right through the glass, and past all the lab benches, there was another window parallel where the nearly full moon and dozens of stars glittered down, casting the corridor in a long strip of bright white light.

"I remember we used to sit together like this on Hagrid's steps," Charlie observed, staring up at the moon. "He always made us tea whenever we went to his hut."

"And rock cakes," Abby recalled staring through the two panes of glass separating them from the outside world. "Treats for helping him get the Fire Crabs into their cages or finding the Mokes."

"And we saved the flat ones to skip across the lake," Charlie laughed, thinking how the groundskeeper had always assumed his two student friends had eaten his inedible baking.

"I fed mine to Fang," Abby confessed, raising her eyebrows as she took another drink, and began chewing on the marshmallow floating in her mouth. "So, working on the Tournament Project?"

"Yes," Charlie nodded, drumming his long fingers along the side of the mug as he rested his elbows on his knees, "just copying maps and such."

"Sounds thrilling," she commented, rolling her eyes sarcastically as she pushed some strands of her light brown hair back behind her ear.

"At least it's not hard," Charlie threw back, giving her a nudge with his fist as he took another drink from his cup. "It's just tedious. There's much to do and little time to do it all in. It feels like taking the OWL exams again."

"You'll manage," Abby smiled, patting her hand on his knee. "You always do. Though if I recall correctly, someone in our year nearly forgot to change out of his pyjamas before the Transfiguration OWL because there was too much on his mind."

"That was over seven years ago, thank you," Charlie glared at her as she laughed.

"Just making sure you don't forget," Abby giggled, placing her empty mug back onto the tray.

"I'm serious though," Charlie nudged his friend again, nearly tipping her right over onto the carpet. "It's sort of...mind-boggling."

"I know," Abby straightened up, nudging him back lightly. "No reason to try and tip me like a mooncalf."

The two smiled, their laughter over their clown-like behaviour echoing off the walls of the darkened corridor. Handing his empty mug back to Abby, Charlie's eyes caught the sight of the silver watch on his wrist. The tiny suns in it pointed out the hour, making his eyes widen in surprise.

"By Merlin, is it that late already?" he exclaimed, taking a closer look at his watch. "I'd better get back to work. I have morning shift tomorrow."

Charlie scrambled to his feet, shaking out his legs from his time sitting down as Abby neatly placed the empty mugs onto the tray and stood, brushing her shorts off.

"Give my compliments to Nisha," Charlie said, stepping back into the archive room. "She makes excellent cocoa, and that was a great pick-me-up."

"I'll tell her that," Abby nodded, beginning to head down the corridor.

"And," Charlie added, quickly grabbing Abby's arm, holding her back so she would hear him, "thank you, for that."

"No problem," Abby brushed off, allowing Charlie to release his hold on her arm. "Goodnight than."

"Sweet dreams," he called as she walked away, turned the corner and disappeared down the hallway.

Turning back into the room, Charlie looked at the pile of maps on the table he still had to look over. With a light sigh escaping from his lips, he shut the door to the library and wandered back over to his seat. Pulling out the next scroll, he continued, feeling a burst of energy to go as fast as he could and get his task completed, mind boggling or not.

- - -

The door to Room 317 shut with a soft click as Abby walked in. From the middle of the room, the light was still illuminated, but the normal friendly face of her roommate didn't pop up in greeting. Walking past the closeted foyer, Abby looked to Bella's side of the room. Covered by her pink and white patterned comforter from the waist down, a book being held open by her hand next to her on the pillow, Bella lay fast asleep.

Carefully, Abby lifted Bella's wrist off the book, slipping it away from beneath her grasp before gently laying her petite hand back in its original place. Grapping the fluffy cotton comforter, Abby pulled it up to rest on Bella's shoulders, letting it fall naturally over her as Abby placed the book, open to the page it had been left on, atop Bella's desk.

"Nox," Abby whispered to the light on the wall, letting the room dim into shadows, lit only by the light of the moon outside the window.

Letting her left hand and forehead rest on the cold glass of the window, Abby looked out at the moon and stars in the black night sky. Even though the world changed around her, the night sky had always been a constant, something that one could count on to be there. Even though parts of the sky looked different from what Abby was used to at home in England, it was of comfort to see them still shining down on the world, unconcerned with what it was beaming down on. Its mere presence, the shimmer of the stars, the fullness of the moon, there wasn't anything she could say ill about it.

Removing her head from the cold glass, she kept her hand on the window, holding it up to the window, as if it was a part of the night, stars glistening around her palm with the moon at her fingertips. Looking at her hand, a blinding gleam of a star shone between her pinkie and ring finger.

Surprised by the sudden glimmer, Abby pulled her hand away from the window, looking down at her hand, back at the sky, and then down at her hand again. Touching her bare ring finger, she wrung her hands together and sat down on her own green and blue plaid comforter.

"Even the night mocks me now," she muttered, shaking her head. She didn't want to think about that any longer. Letting go of her own grip, she lay down on top of the covers and closed her eyes, placing her mind far from thoughts she did not desire.

**A/N:** Queen Shabbat is a reference to the Jewish Sabbath, just in case that wasn't known. I make a few religious references, and I'll try to (a) reference as many as I can and (b) portray them accurately. If someone sees me misstep on one of these, feel free to point them out. I don't claim any expertise on the topic of religion.  
And nothing else to really note on that front. If I had a casting choice on Tamara Cohen, she works in my mind like Sarah Michelle Gellar.  
Otherwise, please enjoy!


	8. Chapter Seven: Harvest Market

**Chapter Seven: Harvest Market**

"Drink this up," Abby instructed her patient, holding a goblet of deep purple liquid to the lips of the dragon keeper in her care.

Tipping the goblet, the potion flowed into the mouth of the patient, and as instantly as he swallowed his medicine, hot vapours began to pour from his ears, the emitting steam giving his blonde hair and skin of his face a look that suggested he had been sweating profusely. As drops of moisture slid down his face, the patient breathed deeply, no longer feeling the need to sneeze. Abby nodded, taking the empty goblet away with a smile on her face.

"The steam will stop in a few hours," she explained politely while she used her wand to clean the cup, "but consider your cold gone, Mr Donaldson."

"Thanks," the man spoke clearly, without coughing up phlegm, in an Australian accent as he hopped off the hospital bed and strode towards the door, steam trailing behind him. "See you later, mates."

"Bye Ryan," Charlie waved over his plate of fries where he sat at Abby's desk.

Before the young Australian dragon keeper could reach the door, it swung open with a mighty force. Looking up from their lunch as the door met the wall with a slam, Abby and Charlie saw a very excited Bella run in and almost instantly collide with Ryan.

"I'm so..." Bella started to apologize, clutching the Australian's shoulders as she spun around him to keep herself upright, only to gasp in the middle of her sentence. Her hazel eyes looked as though they were about to pop out seeing the mysterious white steam coming out of the sides of his face. "By Merlin, your ears!"

"It's Pepperup potion," Abby explained from across the infirmary, putting the goblet used back in its regular place in her well-kept cabinets.

"Oh!" The idea hit Bella, making her cheeks flush a shade of pink, complimentary to the colour of her pastel shirt as she let go of Ryan's shoulders. "I'm sorry about that."

"No problem," the dragon keeper replied with a nod, walking out of the door as if nothing had happened.

"That was embarrassing," Bella stated, shaking her head while placing her hands in the pockets of her white jeans. "I should have known that. I've taken that potion before."

"An honest mistake," Charlie shrugged off the incident, dipping a handful of fries into his pool of ketchup before popping them into his mouth, barely chewing them before he swallowed.

"What brings you here, Bella?" Abby inquired at last as she sat down with Charlie at her desk to dig into her own lunch.

"Right." Bella quickly scampered over to the desk; her newly straightened and sleek locks of brown hair trailing behind her. "I completely forgot to tell you last night, but there's a very small town not too far from here, and every year they have a very large market event, to celebrate their harvest. We just got word that it's this weekend, so Herb is setting up Portkeys for everyone to go, if they want to, of course. Abby, you have to come, it's so much fun."

Half of Abby's face scrunched up, one eyebrow raising a bit higher than her other. "Harvest market? Food shopping?" she looked for confirmation from her roommate.

"Oh no," Bella answered right away, pausing after she said that to think for a few seconds about what had come out of her mouth. "Well...actually yes, there are stalls to buy food and crops, but there's more than that. It's an entire outdoor market for everything. There's plenty to look at, and you'll have a great time. Will you both be coming along?"

Abby nodded her head. "Sure, it sounds like fun."

"I'm not sure," Charlie sighed, taking a gulp from his glass of pumpkin juice.

"Why not?" Bella asked, giving him a slightly confused look. "You had fun last year, didn't you?"

"Well, of course," Charlie defended immediately, "it was great, but if we don't get some decisions made today about the Triwizard Tournament, I may have to hold another meeting tomorrow. The guys just can't seem to agree on which dragon breeds to take to the Tournament. We were supposed to have that finalised last week, so we're behind schedule."

"Why can't you agree?" Abby asked curiously, dipping a single fry into a bowl of gravy on her plate.

"Everyone has their reasons," Charlie explained as far as he could with a shrug. Glancing down at his watch, he read the sun hands on his left wrist, realising that time was drawing near. "I need to head down to the meeting room. We start in ten minutes time."

Grabbing a handful of fries and shoving them all into his mouth, not bothering with too many bites before swallowing, Charlie got up from his seat at Abby's desk that they had been using as a lunch table. Grabbing his folders of papers, he quickly wiped his mouth with the backside of his hand, brushing off the grains of salt left on his lips as he began to trot towards the door exiting the infirmary. "See you later."

"Good luck," Bella called back, waving as Charlie opened the door to the infirmary. "I hope you sort out your problems so you can come tomorrow."

"I'll try," Charlie replied, walking through the door as it shut behind him.

- - -

Charlie buried his face in his palms, not wanting to visually observe the chaos around him. His ears burned as they listened to the vicious arguments surrounding him, his co-workers and teammates submersed in loud discussions over the long table. The volume continued to escalate, the entire room filled with at least twenty different conversations going on at one given moment. As everyone seemed to be forcefully attempting to persuade others to see their side, it was clear that their meeting wasn't going anywhere soon.

"Everyone, please, quiet down!" Charlie called out, trying to grab his team's attention with little success. Instead, the arguments continued at an even higher volume than before.

"We can't bring a Norwegian Ridgeback, far too rare."

"Well then we're not bringing a Romanian Longhorn either."

"But it's the only Romanian dragon."

"We are going to England. They'll want native dragons."

"But we need a chance to show off our international breeds as well."

BANG!

A sudden deafening gun blast noise went off in the room, making everyone jump out of their seats as it resounded in their meeting. Everyone fell into silence as they looked around, all standing quietly with the exception of one young man, calmly sitting in his seat, with his smoking wand pointed towards the ceiling.

"I believe our leader vants our attention," Simeon stated plainly, blowing out the smoky remnants of his last spell and rustling his dark shaggy bangs, "and I think ve owe him that."

The shushed members of the Triwizard Team slowly slunk back into their seats, watching Simeon as he tucked his linden wood wand back into his pocket, folding his arms across the chest of his black shirt and looking towards Charlie. Everyone followed suite, deciding that undivided attention belonged to Charlie for the time being after all.

"Thank you, Simeon," Charlie nodded towards his roommate and friend, clearing his throat before he went on. "If anyone would like to speak for the rest of the meeting, if we could perhaps not all talk at once, and perhaps raise your hand if you want to add your thoughts in."

The men nodded their approval, not wanting to restart the meeting in the wrong way again. They all kept alert, placing one eye on Charlie, while the other drifted to lie on Simeon.

"Perhaps we should do this by process of elimination," Charlie suggested, taking out his wand and pointing it to the chalkboard placed against the wall. With a silver jet of light wrapping around the small white chalk, it clearly wrote for all to read on the slate the ten breeds of dragon kept on the reserve. "Does anyone want to remove a breed right now?"

One hand attached to Julien Travert rose into the air. "We should take out our rarer dragons first. Any accident zat could 'arm ze dragons, or zair offspring, we should not take that risk with zem."

"So can we agree, no Norwegian Ridgebacks, and no Romanian Longhorns?" Charlie asked the majority, all of who were no longer in the debating mood.

The elimination went along smoothly, no one daring to speak out of turn for quite some time. They could see the logic of not bringing the Ukrainian Ironbelly, Peruvian Vipertooth, and Antipodean Opaleye, but once the list had gone down to the last five breeds of dragon, team members forgot the rule of raising hands and just called out their thoughts, though in an orderly fashion.

"I think that bringing both native dragons back into the United Kingdom is a bit useless," Shane Kennedy brought forth. "If we want to show off our international breeds, we best not bring both native types. One is all right, but two is just too much. We only get to bring three."

"Don't bring the Hebridean Black," Boyd Lusk suggested, leaning back in his chair so it stood on only two legs. "They're too aggressive for the champions."

"So that leaves us with four dragons," Charlie read off the board as the chalk scratched out Hebridean Black in a clean white line. "Swedish Short-Snout, Common Welsh Green, Chinese Fireball, and Hungarian Horntail."

"Get rid of the Horntail," someone from the back called out.

"Yes," half of the team echoed immediately, beginning to randomly chat amongst each other over the decision.

"Well, we're done then," Charlie sighed as Hungarian Horntail got crossed off the board, leaving the three breeds that were bound for Hogwarts. "Good job everyone. You can go."

The crowd of workers dispersed out into the corridor in an instant, exiting in a neat fashion as they all talked about the meeting and their weekend plans while Charlie cleaned up his papers to take down to Herb. With the burden of the meeting lifting from his shoulders, be breathed comfortably knowing that the decision had finally been made.

"Vell done," Simeon complimented as he waited for Charlie at the door, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the frame. "You did very good."

"Thanks to you and your wand," Charlie nodded in gratitude, gathering the last of his papers and shoving them into the appropriate folders as he walked out the door with Simeon.

"Do not vorry," Simeon shrugged off. "The men. They needed to be put in their place. You are our leader in this task, and they owe you the respect."

"At least it's all over," Charlie said, relieved. "We don't need to have another meeting circling around dragon breeds, and everyone is free to go to the Harvest Market tomorrow."

"Ah," Simeon nodded, "I heard that vas soon. You are going?"

"Well, it would be nice to get my mind off the Tournament and have some time away from work," Charlie explained as he ran down a flight of stairs with Simeon towards the main office by the entrance. "What about you?"

"Not sure," Simeon answered, brushing some of his bangs off his dark eyes. "I have never been before."

"You should try getting off the reserve once in a while, Simeon," Charlie chortled, shaking his head, "see the real world every now and then. It would be good for you, really. Come with Abby, Bella, and me tomorrow. We'll all find something to do."

Before Simeon could even mouth an answer, they had already reached the door to the main office, where the name Herbert Kenneth Wilde was painted in large block letters on the maple wood. Turning the knob and letting the door swing open, Charlie walked in, and turned to face his roommate, not giving him time to retaliate.

"I'll meet you later, got to file some things with Herb about the Tournament. But think about coming, okay."

Shutting the door before Simeon could reply, Charlie smirked to himself on the other side. In his mind, he knew he'd be seeing Simeon at the Harvest Market the next day, as he had just given him the perfect reason to attend.

- - -

Beneath the canopy of brightly coloured draping cloth that blocked the beaming sun from roasting the market patrons, crowds of customers hovered around the many booths while there was still a clear path in the middle of the road for passer-bys to walk along. The sound of shopkeepers beckoning possible clients rang out along the cobbled street, tempting people with freshly harvested vegetables and lovely little trinkets of all sorts. Large groups of tourists and locals alike blended into a motley crowd, the mixture of many languages filling the air in a lovely melody. The Harvest Market was in full swing, and all around the activity was bustling in the best way possible.

"It's so nice you decided to come, Simeon," Bella said, readjusting her baby blue shoulder bag, which matched her jacket and pants. "Charlie said you've never been to the Harvest Market, and I'm sure you'll have a lovely time."

Simeon nodded, continuing to walk behind Bella and beside Charlie as the market began to unfold before their eyes. Blending in with the rest of the crowd, as if they were ordinary Muggles, they browsed along, looking at what the market had to offer.

"I don't know why you wore black," Charlie whispered out of earshot of Bella and Abby, pointing out Simeon's plain black shirt and matching pants. "We're not attending a funeral."

"It is vhat I have," Simeon muttered, giving Charlie an odd glare from the corner of his dark eyes.

Charlie was about to point out the fact that his own wardrobe was full of other colours that wouldn't make him look like a mourner and was open to Simeon's use, when Bella turned around to face Simeon and Charlie once again. Glancing over her shoulder, her hazel eyes lit up.

"This is so exciting," she squealed. "Keep an eye out for scarves. I have to get a birthday present for my cousin Nicola, and she really liked the scarf I bought at the market last year. Hopefully there's a stall for them somewhere."

Pushing onward, Bella led the way for the group of four, stopping at many of the booths to browse over the merchandise, searching for the perfect gift for her cousin. Enthralled in the search, she seemed to almost float around the market as if she were in a wonderful dream with a smile plastered permanently onto her face. Simeon's eyes drifted, following her steps as she made her way around the streets, and watching her from a safe distance away.

"Having fun?" Charlie nudged Simeon, seeing that his dark eyes were glazed over in a haze.

Simeon snapped out of his trance, shooting Charlie an evil glare before becoming preoccupied with the cobblestone road beneath his feet. Shaggy hair over his eyes, Charlie couldn't tell what was running through his friend's mind; he only knew that he had to tear Simeon's fascination away from the stone street. Simeon may have not been too interested in the market itself, but Charlie knew there was interest in something attending the market. The only question was how to go about putting them together. Looking to his left side, the answer came to him.

"Look at that," he said aloud to get the girls' and Simeon's attention as they were walking. "A candy and chocolate stand. Anyone in the mood for a bit?"

Simeon's ground gaze snapped up instantly as the girls turned around to look at what Charlie was talking about. To his immediate left, there was an elderly couple standing behind a booth covered in orange cloth with sweets and chocolate wrapped neatly in clear bags with brightly coloured ribbon ready to be sold. Tantalisingly it screamed out to be bought, tasted and enjoyed. The call was overbearing, and there was nothing to resist it.

"Sure," Bella replied taking a look at all the sweets as she approached the booth.

"Vell, if ve are going to stop, I may as vell get something too," Simeon said, eyeing a large bag of chocolate and cookies.

"I'll split the cost with you if you want to buy a larger bag, Simeon," Bella suggested. "I don't want too much."

"Abby," Charlie muttered, beckoning his friend away from the stand, a few metres behind Bella and Simeon. "Abby, come here."

Seeing that Simeon and Bella were immersed in their discussion of what package of chocolate to buy, she quickly handed the women a few Romanian lei and wandered over to where Charlie stood with a small bag of chocolate in the shape of leaves in her hands. Sure that their two companions weren't paying attention, Charlie pulled Abby's hair back and whispered into her ear, pausing only to make sure that Simeon and Bella were still busy with their decision.

Nodding her approval, Abby pulled a slip of parchment and a pen from her black shoulder bag and handed them to Charlie. Using his friend's back as a flat surface, he quickly scribbled out a message, not taking the time to be neat or grammatical. Silently he sneaked up behind his two friends and slid the piece of parchment into Bella's bag, allowing it to stick out just enough so that she would notice the second she reached for it. Backing away to Abby's side, he grabbed her hand and ran.

"Thank you very much," Bella thanked the old man in English as he handed her a large package of assorted sweets. The man nodded and waved his hand as Simeon and Bella turned around, ready to share their purchase, when they turned around to an unfamiliar crowd waiting in line to buy chocolate.

"Vhere did they go?" Simeon asked plainly, looking at a baffled Bella.

"I don't know," was all Bella could say.

- - -

"I hope that they're okay," Abby sighed, popping one of her chocolates into her mouth, letting it melt on her tongue. "And hopefully we find them later. Bella has our Portkey back to the reserve."

"I wrote down where they should meet us," Charlie dismissed Abby's concern, looking over his shoulder to make sure Bella and Simeon didn't come running after them as they wandered down another branch of the market. "I think they need a bit of alone time anyway."

"What exactly makes you so confident in the idea that Simeon fancies Bella?" Abby finally spurted out her question.

"I just know," Charlie explained very simply. "I share a room with and work with Simeon. I'm bound to notice if he has an object of affection."

"Fair enough," Abby responded, shaking her head as she placed her bag of sweets back into her shoulder bag and began looking at the booths all around them.

"Does Bella ever mention Simeon?" Charlie asked, following Abby as she wandered over to a stall selling large segments of exotic looking fabric.

"Not anything that would lead me to believing she fancied him," she replied, fingering a piece of sheer green cloth. "Bella speaks of everyone quite highly though. If Simeon comes up, it's usually about how nice he is to her or how quiet he was at dinner, and she seems to say things of that nature about everyone."

Charlie shrugged. "No harm in letting them have some time alone to see if anything happens to blossom."

Not bothering with an answer for Charlie, Abby gestured to the woman at the stall, using her hands to point out the fabrics she wanted to purchase. Handing over bills of Romanian currency, the middle-aged woman handed Abby a paper bag full of multicoloured materials, happy to have made the exchange.

"What's all that for?" Charlie asked as Abby picked up her new possessions and hauled them away from the stall.

"For Anna," she replied casually, tucking her wallet back into her jeans pocket. "She likes to design her own clothes now, so hopefully this will last her a few weeks."

"Merlin, how old is she now?" Charlie laughed to himself. "Last time I saw her, she was only ten-years-old."

"She's fifteen," Abby replied, "attending school, growing too quickly, and becoming very interested in boys last time I checked."

"So, much like her older sister," Charlie observed.

"How do you figure that?" Abby chortled.

"An interest in the opposite sex," Charlie stated plainly. "I mean, you said you nearly got married to some...Darren Barton."

Stopping her hearty laughter, Abby's tongue froze at Charlie's explanation as they walked along the cobblestone way. Charlie's gaze turned towards her, finding that she had diverted her green eyes to the ground and his stare had met the back of her head. Instantly he knew he had made a mistake in mentioning the name of her past.

"Abby," Charlie whispered, touching her shoulder lightly and giving her a small squeeze. "Abby, are you all right?"

"Yes," Abby answered, forcing a smile as she turned back to face Charlie, her eyes somewhat glazed over. "Yes, I'm all right."

"I'm sorry I..." Charlie began to apologize for bringing up the fatal topic, hanging his head low as he took a deep breath.

"No," Abby interjected, touching his shoulder. "Charlie, there's no need to apologize, really. It's all right. I just don't like to talk about it, that's all."

Charlie nodded, patting Abby's hand as it rested on his shoulder, trying to reassure his presence and support should she need it. In his mind, he did want to know what had happened between Abby and Darren Barton that had caused them to break off an engagement, but at the same time, he couldn't pain Abby to force to recall it.

"Well, let's keep walking," Abby suggested, removing her hand from his shoulder and taking a few steps forward. "There's a lot to see and not much time to see it all in."

- - -

"You bought a lot of scarves," Simeon commented, watching as Bella picked up two large shopping bags filled to the brim with scarves.

"Well, they always make good presents," Bella explained the logic behind her purchase as they began to walk. "And I found the most perfect one for mama. I know she'll love it. She loves surprise presents. I think all mothers do."

"May I hold your bags for you?" Simeon asked, reaching to take the bags from Bella's grasp.

"You're too kind," Bella said graciously as she passed the bags into his firm grip. "You do so much for me, helping me translate my reports, carrying my work and all. I should help you with something."

Bella pressed her thumb and index finger to her chin, pondering over what she could do to thank Simeon, as he muttered something about it being unnecessary. Submerged in thoughts of how to repay her friend, she didn't hear Simeon's objection until she came out of her trance.

"I've got it," she exclaimed excitedly, snapping her fingers and grabbing Simeon's arm. "I'll help you find something nice to send to your parents as a surprise."

"Vhat?" Simeon gasped, his mouth hanging open.

"Oh, it would be grand," Bella rambled on, her eyes sparkling in delight. "People love surprises, especially if they come from the heart. And you'll get such a good feeling knowing you made someone happy. What do you think?"

"I do not think so, Miss Bella," Simeon shook his head. "You do not need to do anything for me."

"Oh nonsense," Bella brushed his comment away as she flipped her ponytail back. "It would be my pleasure. We have plenty of time before we have to meet Abby and Charlie. And please, Simeon, call me Bella. Miss Bella makes it sound like you work for me. Now, what would your parents like?"

Simeon didn't have the chance to fight Bella off. Before he could make any further objections, she had pulled him to another stall, present suggestions swarming inside her head.

**A/N:** A bit of a filler chapter, but a good chance to develop the characters and their relationships to each other a bit more.

People may already note Simeon's Bulgarian accent and realise he replaces the "w" sound with a "v" in many cases. The French accent can't pronounce any "h" sound and replaces "th" with a "z." If anyone is having difficulty reading through the accents, try to replace those things and the sentence should be clearer.

And we press on! Hopefully you're still liking it here. Enjoy. And Merry Christmas! Reviews also appreciated.


	9. Chapter Eight: The Midnight Flight

**Inverarity**: Thank you for reviewing and for your suggestion. Much appreciated for the time. It does work slowly to start, I agree. Thank you.

- - -

**Chapter Eight: The Midnight Flight**

The glow of the luminous moon hanging overhead cast the dewy ground in a subtle shimmer, making it seem as though the grass was littered in tiny shards of glinting glass, as Simeon stood at his post on night watch. The October nights had grown steadily colder as the week on duty had gone by, but it had provided a quiet atmosphere with not much activity, which was openly welcomed. The odd restless dragon would come out of the caves to make an evening flight around the reserve that required sets of watchful eyes, but either than that there had been little to report during the hours of darkness and it made an easy shift to complete, outside the fact that the normal sleeping patterns were disturbed.

Drawing his knee-length jacket in closer to his thin body, Simeon turned his attention from the large area of the reserve and looked towards his watch partner. Charlie was immersed in the folder of paper that sat in his lap where he furiously wrote out notes as he sat on the ledge of the wall, not paying attention to his shift as his mind worked at light speed with his other task. Simeon quietly walked up to Charlie, careful not to disturb his friend as he took a seat on the wall beside him. Without words, signs, or movement, he had let the hardworking Charlie know he was present in his complete silence.

"It is quiet tonight," Simeon finally commented verbally as he whipped his head, which tossed his bangs aside so he could see the many glittering stars against the black evening sky.

"The quieter the better," Charlie responded, not looking up from his work as the sound of his scratching stubby quill fill the air around them.

"Triwizard Tournament?" Simeon asked, scratching the back of his neck as he peered over Charlie's shoulder at the parchment he was writing on.

"Just finalising the release forms to bring the dragons into England," Charlie sighed, looking over the last page he had to finish for the Swedish Short-Snout. "Then they have to go to the Ministry in London. Sort of mundane and mere formality really, but has to be done."

Simeon fell quiet, letting the sound of Charlie's scratching quill take over the night melody again. Wrapping his long coat around him tighter and burying his hands beneath his arms, the minutes of the watch ticked along, counting down to the time where he could finally leap onto his top bunk bed and sleep until lunch the next morning. As the next day approached with only a few minutes before today became yesterday, a single set of footsteps walked along the shadow of the wall, trotting right for where Simeon and Charlie were sitting. Alert to the sound, Simeon rose from his place and walked towards the figure approaching them.

"Evening Zuberi," Simeon greeted the figure in the shadow, shaking hands with the person that would be taking their place for the remainder of the darkened hours.

"Has Constantine been by?" Zuberi asked, his deep voice piercing the quiet night unlike his dark skin that blended into the late hours.

"No." Simeon shook his head.

"He is supposed to have this post with me tonight," Zuberi groaned. "If he has forgotten again..."

"I can stay until he gets here," Charlie offered, still not removing his brown eyes from his pages of work. "Simeon needs to fall asleep first anyway, and I'll be awake for a while yet."

Charlie pointed to a coffee mug sitting next to him on the ledge, drained of its original contents, before he turned back to his papers and continued to work. Zuberi groaned, putting his hand to his baldhead, swiping the smooth surface. Pulling the wand from his belt, he nodded reluctantly, and moved to stand in the spot where Simeon had been standing earlier. 

"I shall keep the door unlocked for you, Charlie," Simeon promised as he began to walk away from the scene. "Goodnight."

"Oh, forgot to tell you Simeon," Charlie suddenly tore his eyes off his work to stop his co-worker, not wanting to forget the thought that had floated into his head. "My mum wrote back and she said thanks for the apron and hat you got at the Harvest Market."

"Vas nothing," Simeon replied with a shrug, taking a few more steps forward to leave the night watch shift.

"Why did you buy those anyway?" Charlie questioned curiously, his eyebrow rising a bit.

"Don't ask," were the last words from Simeon's lips before he disappeared into the shadows of the night.

- - -

With only the tip of his wand guiding his way, Charlie slowly walked through the dark hallway of the main building, trying not to bump into the walls as he went. Constantine had finally arrived for his shift twenty minutes late, which had erupted into a very large shouting match between him and Zuberi that Charlie was more than glad to sneak away from. Clutching his completed work beneath his arm, he turned around the corridors while humming the school song of Hogwarts to himself to break the silence of the night.

A loud thump made Charlie stop his out of tune song to allow his ears to perk up. Listening carefully, he waited, not daring to move and risk missing another noise. Within seconds, the sound of creaking floorboards entered his ears. Someone was nearby. By the direction of the footsteps, someone was in the workers lounge just down the hallway.

"Odd," Charlie muttered quietly to himself. Activity around the reserve dwindled around ten o'clock in the evening, eleven at the latest, because of the many who had early starts in the morning, and there wasn't much that one person could be doing. Only one member of the reserve had been known for staying up well past everyone else, but Tamara Cohen's haunt was normally in the researcher's area and the archives, not the leisure rooms.

Quietly Charlie crept up to the door, just as the knob began to turn. Pointing his lit wand to the level of his eyes, the door opened and blinded the person walking out the door, making them step back from the light and shield themselves with their clothed arm. In full illumination, Charlie immediately recognized the night owl being.

"Abby?" He gasped, retracting the direction his wand's tip away from his friend's sightless green eyes.

"Charlie?" Her eyes squinted still, readjusting to the darkness as she moved her arm down.

"You're up late," Charlie commented, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment from causing Abby's momentary blindness. "What are you doing awake?"

"Making a phone call to England," Abby explained, her excuse reminding Charlie that the workers lounge was the only room besides Herb's office with a Muggle telephone. "They're a few hours behind Romania, and mum doesn't get off work until late. What are you doing wandering the main building?"

"Night watch shift," he clarified with a simple nod and sigh, not being able to think of anything else to say for a moment, causing an eerie silence between the two friends. Clearing this throat, he blurted out the first thing in his mind. "Can I walk you back to your dormitory?" 

"Sure," Abby said, closing the door to the lounge as she ran her hand through her brunette mane. "I probably won't sleep right away though. I had a nap after dinner so I'd be awake to call mum."

"Me neither," Charlie moaned, scratching his head as his wand illuminated the hallway leading to their dormitories. "Too much coffee during the shift."

"If neither of us want to sleep, want to find something to do for an hour or so? Pass some time," Abby suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "You can't really force sleep without a potion."

"Okay," Charlie nodded, not thinking of anything better to do with his time while wide-awake with caffeine in his system.

"There's a billiard table in the lounge," Abby pointed out, trying to think of some short activity for them to do. "And a television, though I don't really know what Romanian shows are like. There's a deck of self-shuffling cards, I think."

"Wait," Charlie stopped Abby from speaking, his eyes widening as a thought entered his head. A smile broke out of his lips as he muttered, "I think I have the perfect idea."

- - -

Abby screamed in delight, the midnight air rushing through her hair as her entire body soared. Gripping tightly to the old Nimbus Seventeen Hundred broomstick, she leaned forward to accelerate the speed, catching up to Charlie riding a Comet Two Sixty. With a great gap of emptiness separating their broomsticks from the surrounding forest and ground below, it was a complete adrenaline rush.

"I forgot how much fun this is," Abby yelled out to Charlie as she sped along, looking as happy as a witch stung by Billywigs. 

Charlie tilted his aircraft upward, slowing it down to halt as Abby copied his movement. Suspended far above the ground, Charlie looked at the sky, the glittering stars and moon being their only source of light at the hour. Gazing at the vast universe above, he'd never felt as tiny as he had in that single second.

"It's amazing," Charlie commented, shaking his head. "You just don't get the views like this in the cities. Just look at all the stars."

"Do you remember any of the constellations from Astronomy?" Abby asked.

"Not really," Charlie answered honestly.

"Good," Abby laughed. "Now I don't feel so bad about not remembering any either." She sighed, still showing off her teeth through her smile. "By Merlin, it's been ages since I've flown."

"You used to enjoy it so much back at school," Charlie chortled, taken back a little by her comment. "I didn't think anything could take you out of the air."

Abby's lack of a response let Charlie know right away that he had unknowingly crossed the line of forbidden conversation once again. With a feeble smile, she silently floated in the air, unable to bring words to her lips as she gave a small shrug, trying to hide the noticeable pain in her speechlessness as she continued to stargaze.

"Can you still do fancy broomstick manoeuvres?" Charlie spat out to change the subject before the silence could make the moment awkward.

Taking off into a slow flight, he loosened one of his hands from the broom and released the grip of his left foot. Hanging from the single hand and foot curled around the handle, he stretched out his limbs in a perfect Starfish and Stick. His broom circled around a surprised Abby, before his broom gave a shudder that set him sitting up properly on the broom again.

"A Keeper's move?" Abby eyed him suspiciously. "You never cease surprising me, show-off."

"You have to do what you have to do in order to catch that wicked little Snitch," Charlie explained with a teasing sneer. "So, let's see you do something tricky." 

Mirroring Charlie's sneer, Abby's broom began to move beneath her. Flying around for a moment, her broom began to pick up momentum as it flew through the air. Without warning, she pulled up on the handle, flipping her right over so she hung from the broomstick from her hands and knees in a nicely executed Sloth Grip Roll.

"Come on now," Charlie scoffed as Abby flipped herself back right side up. "That's child's play. My brother Percy could do that move and he's a dreadful flier. Let's see you do something actually difficult."

"And what would you suggest?" Abby said with a tease in a high-pitched singsong voice.

Charlie paused, thinking over the Quidditch moves he had learned while playing for Gryffindor. Many plays needed more than one person to pull off, and others needed equipment. There were few moves that could be done solo and without a bat or ball. Looking down over the forest of trees beneath them, he thought deeply, and saw the answer lying beneath his feet.

"I'll race you," Charlie declared to the attentive Abby. "We'll fly through the trees, dodging the obstacles."

"So, a hurdle race," Abby restated his idea, smiling in intrigue.

"If you're up to it," Charlie laughed, looking at Abby with taunting eyes, daring her to accept his challenge.

"You're on," she agreed, bringing her broom to his side and readying herself for a plunge into the depths of the wood.

Pointing the handles of the brooms downward, they prepared for a dive towards the ground. Eying each other for a look of fear, neither of them could trace it in the other. Taking deep breaths of night air, they hovered in open sky, waiting for the moment in which their race would begin.

"Ready?" Charlie asked, looking down towards his target.

"As I'll ever be," Abby answered confidently.

"GO!"

Both of the brooms took off with a jolt, sending them hurtling towards the ground at what seemed like light speed. Rustling leaves as they passed the border between sky and forest, they pulled up at the nearest branch, and sprung forward. Weaving around the many trunks and branches, they dodged through every nook and cranny they could fit into. Within seconds, they had branched out into separate lanes, only seeing each other in blurs of colour between the gaps in the trees as they sped along through.

"You can't win against me, Ridges," Charlie called out the vague smudge of red that was Abby's sweater. 

As if the broom knew what to do, it accelerated, passing the other contestant, swiftly gliding through the woodlands with ease. Pressing faster, Charlie could no longer see Abby, assuming she was far behind him navigating around the oaks. He went through a clearing, flying above a small lake that acted like a mirror as he saw his speeding reflection in the water. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, it was clear that he was well ahead with no blur of red chasing him.

Reaching a wooded area again, he went a little farther before he pulled his broom up and burst through the trees and into the open sky. Hovering above the forest, he looked down, trying to pinpoint Abby's red sweater amongst the green leaves. A moment passed and he didn't see ay sign of her. Flying slowly over the area he had just been gliding over, his eyes scanned the forest for her.

"Well, you know I won, Abby," Charlie called out with a laugh, his feet hitting the tops of the trees as he flew above them. "You can come out of hiding from embarrassment now. I promise I won't brag. Too much."

Flying over the lake, Charlie peered down, seeing that the mirror lake seemed distorted, not being able to produce a reflection of the large moon with the ripples flowing out to the shore. In the very centre, there was something floating on the water that hadn't been there before. Closing in on the lake, Charlie hovered only a metre above to notice that the object floating was a Nimbus Seventeen Hundred broomstick.

"Abby!" Charlie called out, looking around air bubbles to surface, his mind racing in fright. "ABBY!"

No bubbles came to surface on the water, sending Charlie's mind into a state of complete panic. He'd never seen this lake before, and there was no telling how deep it went. Letting go of his own broom and throwing off his jacket, letting the cold air bite his arms, he released all his weight from the broom and fell into the icy water.

Using the wand in his back pocket, he performed a Bubblehead charm and submerged beneath the depths of the water. The entire image beneath the surface was distorted with the protective covering that allowed him to breath underwater, but he only looked for a hint of colour. Flailing his arms about, he tried to go deeper, but the pressure in his ears and the chills on his skin made going lower nearly unbearable. Rising above to the ground level again, he looked about through the beads of water sliding down his shield for his friend, and went back down.

He began to repeat going up and down every few moments, wondering if he would see Abby's body floating on the surface compared to seeing her sink into the murky depths. The cold water chilled his every joint, and the night air didn't help every time he came up to look. Time after time, there was no sign of Abby.

A sudden jerk from his waist pulled him to his left side, dragging him through the water as if a hook had caught on his pants and was luring him in like a fish. Stroking his arms wildly, he tried to fight back, but whatever had caught him had a good grip on him. In a matter of seconds he could feel sand and silt beneath his feet, meaning he was near the edge of the lake. Dragging his feet along the bottom, he hoped he could slow the pull, but still he was taken to the point where he could lie on the sand on his back while his head was above water. The Bubblehead charm receded, soaking his hair and giving him a clear view as he breathed the icy air in.

"Charlie!" a worried voice broke the silence, a warm dry hand touching his forehead as a pair of green eyes met his.

"Abby!" Charlie gasped, looking at his friend, who looked dry from her waist up as she kneeled next to him.

"What were you doing in the water, for Merlin's sake?" Abby scolded, shaking her head as she touched his cheek with one hand and checked his pulse with her other. "It's freezing cold."

"Your broom," Charlie pointed out to the middle of the lake where the two brooms were still sitting, one in midair as the other floated. "I thought..."

"We need to get you warm," Abby butted in right away, pulling him right out of the water.

Abby's arms thrust Charlie into a sitting position on the dirt ground, her hands yanking the dripping shirt off of his back. Grabbing his wand from him without a word, she held the stick to his chest, mouthed a spell, and made it spurt warm air against him. Charlie sighed in relief, the chills that plagued his skin beginning to fade away as the jet of heat from his wand warmed him up. Using her own wand, Abby summoned the two brooms from the middle of the lake. As the aircrafts skidded along the dirt in halt, she pulled the jacket from Charlie's broom, and wrapped it around his shoulders.

"You may need a Pepperup Potion when we get back to the reserve," Abby explained, taking his wet shirt, wringing out the excess of water and using the same spell she'd used with Charlie's wand to dry it. "Just as precaution. Don't really want you to catch a cold this time of year."

Charlie nodded, feeling his upper body become drier with the warmth emitting from his wand tip. Letting the silence fall between them again, he felt the need to break it, and find out what had happened. "Why was your broom in the middle of the lake?"

"I fell," Abby explained very simply. "I fell off and the broom kept going."

"Are you all right then?" Charlie asked, feeling a shiver creep up his spine as he gave a mighty sneeze.

"Let's put it this way," Abby looked to him, shaking out his dry sweater with a small smirk on her face. "I think I came out better off than you."

- - -

"I'll leave a note for Valerie to check the brooms tomorrow," Charlie said as Abby and he walked across the courtyard towards the dormitory rooms. "She's an expert in repairs."

"Great," Abby replied, folding her arms across her chest as they approached the girls' dormitory building. Bowing her head, she turned on the path, before spinning back around to face her friend. "And Charlie..."

"Yes," Charlie responded, turning his head back towards her.

"Thank you," Abby stated plainly with a small grin. "Even though the last bit of our evening left to be desired, I had a fun time. I'd forgotten what flying felt like over these past few years."

"No trouble," Charlie shrugged, scratching the back of his head.

"And, thank you," Abby began again, "for trying to save me when you thought I was in trouble."

"Any friend would have done that," Charlie replied modestly and truthfully. "But I should be thanking you, for actually saving me."

Abby couldn't help but quietly laugh through her tight lips, Charlie smiling back at the sound of her laughter. Silence filled the space between them as they grinned at each other, not having the right words in mind to say. With nothing on their tongues, Abby merely tucked her stray hair behind her ear and waved her goodnight as she vanished into her dormitory building, leaving Charlie outside in the cold air. With steam pouring out of his ears, he walked away towards his own building, hoping that Simeon was in deep sleep so there would be no questions about the spurting vapours.

**A/N:** To my knowledge, Romania is about two or three hours ahead of the United Kingdom due to time zones. Random fact, but now you know.

The Quidditch movies spoken of are taken directly from Quidditch Through the Ages. To learn more about the noble sport, I suggest reading that.

Well, enjoy as always. More later.


	10. Chapter Nine: Disbelieving Detections

**Chapter Nine: Disbelieving Detections**

"It really puzzles me," Charlie stated as he picked up his dirty laundry, thrusting his socks and unmentionables littered along the bottom of his closet into a large cloth bag. "I just don't understand it. Why won't she talk about him?"

Simeon grunted groggily, turning over on the top bunk with his eyes shut off from the world. His head sank into the depths of the soft pillow, leaving only one ear open to half-listen to his roommate. Slowly the sands of sleep took over, urging him to doze for the remainder of the evening as Charlie rambled onward, unaware that his friend was tuning out his voice.

"It's really just flat out confusing," Charlie pressed on, flopping into the chair at his desk, resting his forehead in his open palm. "And frustrating. I mean, she seems to go through great lengths to hide every piece of possible information, and at the same time it's so clear that it disturbs her greatly. Obviously, this pains her, and I don't want to force her into talking about him, but I can't really offer any sort of support if I don't know what happened. It's just so hard."

Charlie sighed deeply, dropping his bag of laundry on the floor, consumed by the thoughts and theories of the mysterious Darren Barton running through his mind as he laid his balled hand to rest on his desk. He barely noticed that Simeon had begun to snore very softly.

"I can't imagine what that oaf might have done to her," Charlie muttered in Simeon's general direction, his fingernails digging into his palm as his fist tightened. "She hasn't even flown in years and she absolutely loves to fly. What sort of controlling jerk was he?"

Folding his arms across his chest, he leaned back in his chair, using every brain cell he had to try and conjure some sort of plausible theory. Rapping his fingers along his upper arms, he thought.

"Maybe he hit her," Charlie suggested out loud. "It would explain things. Or maybe he cheated. Simeon?"

Finally, Charlie looked up at his dreaming roommate, who gave a loud snort as he turned over from one side to his back. Angrily, Charlie rose to his feet, grabbing the pillow from his bottom bunk and gripping it tightly in his fist. Drawing his whole arm back for mighty force, he smacked the pillow down on Simeon's face as hard as he could. Simeon immediately awoke with a jolt, sitting up too quickly and banging his head on the ceiling.

"Vhat vas that for?" Simeon groaned in pain as Charlie tossed his pillow back onto his bed.

"Is it so hard to ask for your undivided attention while I talk?" Charlie sarcastically questioned Simeon, who rubbed the part of his forehead that had made contact with the ceiling. "Or am I boring you to sleep?"

"The second one," Simeon replied with a scoff, throwing his legs over the side of the bunk and hopping down onto the floor.

"Well, sorry for boring you with serious matters," Charlie retorted his friend's jeer, shoving his desk chair so its seat was out of the way.

"You have been obsessing over this for veeks now, Charlie," Simeon shook his head while scratching the back of his neck and trotting over to his closet. "If it vas a very serious problem, I think you vould know all about it by now."

Charlie sighed, his hands diving into his pants pockets. "Maybe."

"Charlie, she vill tell you in time," Simeon assured his roommate as he opened up his closet and rummaged through his black sweaters for one to throw on over his short-sleeved shirt. "Vhen she is ready to talk about it, she vill let you know."

"Maybe," Charlie sighed heavily, regretting that he had just been scolding Simeon harshly for not listening. "Please understand Simeon, it's hard to see her when there's clearly something inside that hurts her. As her friend, it's a difficult thing, and I only want to help her."

"I know," Simeon muttered quietly, patting Charlie on the shoulder. "But, give it time."

"Anyway, laundry," Charlie reminded himself of the task he had been in the midst of, grabbing his cloth bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "And then down to the lounge, to hear the champions' names announcement. I'll see you in the lounge at ten o'clock?"

"No," Simeon shook his head as he straightened out his black sweater and grabbed a set of shoes from his closet. "I have some vash to do as vell."

"Well, let's get down there then," Charlie rushed his roommate along. "We don't want to be late. I want to hear the name of the champion that will put Durmstrang to shame."

- - -

"Are you sure you don't want to come down to the lounge and hear the name draw?" Abby asked as she sat at her desk, shoving her quills, ink, and parchment into the drawers to clean the mess she had made of the space over the past few days. "I'm sure it will prove very interesting, hearing the names of the champions and all."

"It's all right," Bella replied, sitting with her legs crossed on her pink and white comforter, already wearing her matching flannel pyjamas. "It's not as though I would know any of the school champions, and I do have an early meeting with the researchers tomorrow. But do tell me all about it in the morning."

Abby nodded as she pushed away from her desk, sweeping her long mane into a ponytail to protrude from the back of her head. Turning her head to Bella, the researcher was rummaging through a large brown bag in her lap. She pulled out the scarves that brimmed from the sac by the handful, inspecting each strip of fabric, before she retrieved a single forest green and golden yellow scarf. Placing it aside on her bedcover, she quickly shoved the rest back into the bag, and banished them to her closet with a flick of her wand.

"You sure got a lot of those," Abby commented as the brown paper bag tucked itself into one of the shelves just as the door to the closet shut with a click.

"Well, they do make lovely presents," Bella replied with a toothy grin as she neatly folded the green scarf and laid it in a small white box. "I asked Simeon if he wanted to give one to his mother, since I bought so many, but he didn't seem interested in my offer. I guess his mother doesn't like scarves. But he wasn't very much help in telling me anything about what his mother or father would have liked. He's very quiet about that. All the years I've known him, and he never does mention his family. But eventually I had him get a nice apron and hat for his parents at the Harvest Market a few weeks ago. Would you happen to have Spellotape?" 

Abby's hand dove back into her desk drawer, removing a thin roll of the yellow adhesive. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed it onto the bed so it landed next to her roommate.

"_Mille grazie_," Bella said in gratitude, unaware she had just spoken in her native tongue as she sealed the box with the tape.

"So, you enjoy spending time with Simeon?" Abby brought the conversation back subtly, remembering Charlie's comments regarding their roommates from the Harvest Market.

"I enjoy any time I spend in the company of good friends," Bella giggled, using her wand to cut out a piece of wrapping paper to cover the small box. "And Simeon is a good friend to me, always so polite and helpful. It's always a pleasure to have companionship around."

Abby nodded to agree, rising from her seat to stretch out her stiff arms and back, bending backward slightly as she did so.

"But I suppose I should be asking you if you enjoy your time with Charlie more than you should be asking me of Simeon," Bella interrupted Abby's thoughts with sly smile.

"What?" Startled by Bella's comment, Abby only just caught herself before she could topple over backwards onto her bed. She looked at her roommate curiously, seeking an explanation without words.

"Well, don't keep secrets from me, Abby," Bella chided jokingly, glaring at her friend with raised gleaming eyes. "You and Charlie ran off alone together very quickly at the Harvest Market. It's not very often we see one of you without the other far behind. What is going on between the two of you?"

"Nothing," Abby replied instantly as her hands planted themselves on her waist. She could sense the pitch of her voice rise in defensive mode, but she couldn't help but laugh at the sound of that rumour. "Charlie and I go far back, back to when we were practically children. We were best friends at school, and that's all we still are: friends. I don't know how you got the impression it was anything besides that."

"Well, I'm sorry," Bella apologized right away with a little shrug, tying a bright pink bow on top of the present she had been wrapping. "I didn't know. But you two do spend a lot of time together, and you two just seem so...I don't really know how to describe it. You just seem to look so taken by him, maybe."

"We're no more than very good friends who have known each other for a long time," Abby explained very plainly with a nod of her head. "I love Charlie, but just not in the way you thought."

Bella shrugged with a smile. "Well, the love of a friend, a true friend, is an enduring love indeed."

"It is," Abby nodded quietly.

- - -

With his bag of laundry loaded into a small washing machine, Charlie slammed the lid to the contraption shut, checking the watch on his left wrist to make sure he had enough time to wait for it to complete. Sitting down in the uncomfortable plastic chair in front of it, he pointed his wand at the Muggle device. With spark of green light hitting the piece of machinery, it started with a small shudder and began to do its designated work of cleaning his clothes by immediately filling with water and soap.

In the seat next to him, Simeon was watching his wash intently, as if the only thing in his view was the spinning motion of his black shirts and socks. It was as though he had entered a trance he didn't want to awaken from. Charlie had seen that look before. The swirling pieces of black garments that had seemed to hypnotise his friend, had given him the glazed eyes look that was normally reserved for the object of his affection.

"Have you seen Bella lately?" Charlie asked as he leaned back in his chair with one ankle resting on his knee, deciding to bring up the conversation casually.

"I saw her vhen you last saw her," Simeon replied indifferently, still watching the washer with his full concentration. "At dinner. Vhy?"

"You never did tell me everything that happened at the Harvest Market," Charlie commented with a wide grin as he folded his arms across his chest.

"So," Simeon responded, shrugging his shoulders as if that would brush the topic away. "Vhat is there to tell?"

"Come now, Simeon." Charlie nudged his friend in the arm. "You can't pretend with me. You spend so much time with Bella Ribisi, so you can't hide your little affections anymore. You fancy her."

"I spend lots of time vith you," Simeon pointed out, keeping his eyes on the washing machine. "You think I fancy you?"

"Don't play games now," Charlie chided with a more serious tone, realising he had trapped himself into a corner with that comment.

"Vhat games?" Simeon asked as if to stall Charlie's questions.

"It's obvious that you fancy Bella, just admit it," Charlie came out flat with his suspicions.

"There is nothing between us," Simeon finally looked up to Charlie, clearly not amused with his friend's taunting.

"There must be," Charlie persisted.

"Just because I help her carry books does not mean I fancy her," Simeon stated as plainly as he could, diverting his gaze back to the washing machine. "Vould you not do the same for her if you saw her carrying many heavy books?"

Charlie couldn't think of a smart comeback in time, as Simeon's washing machine had beeped to alert the user it had completed the cycle. Simeon didn't utter another word, waving his wand at the machine. The door flew open with a loud bang against the machine next to it, and clean clothes piled out, bone dry and spotless. With another wand flick, the shirts and pants began to fold themselves and stack neatly atop the washer, ready to be thrown back into Simeon's closet and prepared for use.

"Ve are only friends," Simeon finally spoke as the last of his socks rolled atop his stack of clothes. "Just like you and Miss Ridges."

"Vhatever," Charlie snorted, giving his friend a mocking glare.

With a balled fist, Simeon nudged Charlie in his upper arm as they continued waiting for Charlie's laundry to finish.

- - -

The lounge had begun to crowd with countless reserve workers by the time Charlie and Simeon arrived at the doorway. The alumni students of each school had secured a particular area of the room, shown by the fact that everyone had brought their old school flags and had dressed in their old school robes before coming and making it clear to see that each set had segregated itself from the rest. All around, the noise level was high as everyone was trying to speak above the other schools of magic to the point where yelling was necessary just to hear the person beside you. In words, the room had become chaotic den of school pride.

"Charlie!" One of the young men decorated with the Hogwarts crest on both his cheeks called from across the room, waving his arms wildly in their air as he sat on someone's shoulders to get his fellow graduate's attention. "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."

Charlie waved back, shooting thumbs up in their direction in support of his alma mater. Turning towards Simeon, he shook his head shamefully with a chortle escaping his lips. "Pretty crazy how some enthusiasts get."

"Ve all have our village idiots."

Simeon gestured towards the group of workers from Durmstrang at the other end of the room, whom all had their wands held over their heads. Above them, there was one individual being levitated in the air by them with the colours of his school painted on his every skin cell that wasn't covered by clothing, namely a single pair of shorts. Suspended there above everyone, the young lad could only lead the school cheer while doing little flips and spins while airborne. Charlie laughed out loud at the sight as Simeon shook his head in embarrassment, taking a champagne flute off a nearby table and draining it of its contents in one large gulp.

"Ah, Charlie!" Herb exclaimed, pushing out of the crowd at seeing the dragon keeper standing at the entrance to the lounge, his baldhead and shoulders littered in different coloured streamers and confetti to emblem the three schools. "You're just in time. Not too long now."

Grabbing Charlie's arm firmly, he pulled the dragon keeper through the crowd of people, elbowing the way to the front of the room. Squeezing between the cheering hordes, it had seemed to take them ages before they popped out at the other end in front of a small brick unlit fireplace. Just above the hearth was a long brick mantle, supporting an old-fashion wooden wireless radio, the centrepiece of the evening.

"Mr Bagman and Mr Crouch promised good reception," Herb boasted, patting the wooden radio while brushing off the blue and silver Beauxbatons silk streamers from his shoulders. "Said themselves that they would make sure there was a special charm on it so there won't be much lag between the grand announcement and here. Hopefully it works, now."

"I'm sure it will," Charlie nodded confidently.

"Best get everyone to hush soon so we can hear," Herb subtly instructed Charlie as he began to fiddle with the dials. "It'll be any moment now."

As soon as Charlie had turned around to inform the masses, it became unnecessary to say a single word to them. The second that Herb's hands touched the dials of the ancient radio, everyone had fallen completely silent. They watched as his fingers twisted the knobs, trying to tune it exactly right. The air lingered in anticipation, every single person waiting with baited breath for the exciting news that would be coming over the air at any moment.

"Hey," a familiar voice snuck up beside Charlie. "Still hoping it's a Gryffindor?"

"It will be," Charlie responded, not bothering to meet Abby's eye as he gazed at the radio intently, almost as if his stare would bring it to life.

A static noise came over the radio, taking over all sound in the room. There was a small gasp from the back at the little fizzling sound, but as Herb's fingers continued to jiggle at the dials, there was finally a clear reception coming through. The dead silence had conquered again, not even a single cough or sniffle. For a moment, everyone waited, hoping that their little radio would transmit the important message from Hogwarts.

"Well the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision," the distinctive voice of Hogwarts Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, came over the wireless at long last, sending a wave of relief and excitement over the hushed crowd. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions."

The air in the lounge was thick with tension as the people of the reserve waited patiently for the names to be announced. Everyone leaned forward slightly, ears perked and ready to cheer for their school champions the very second they were named.

"The champion for Durmstrang," Dumbledore's voice echoed over the wireless again in a loud booming tone, "will be Viktor Krum."

The side of the room housing the Durmstrang alumni erupted into a clash of different sorts of cheers and applause. Fireworks began to go off, spreading red glitter atop Hogwarts and Beauxbatons workers. Charlie barely noted that his hair had been covered in blood red tinsel as he stared at the radio with widened eyes.

"Viktor Krum?" he repeated the name in confusion. "Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum? He's a student?"

"The National Quidditch team recruited him very young, only thirteen I think," Simeon explained, having pushed his way out of the Durmstrang sector to Charlie's side. "Naturally a vorthy opponent."

Charlie had no more time than a second to be surprised by the fact of a world renowned Seeker was still in school, as the fizzling voice of Dumbledore returned to the wireless, making everyone hush once again to hear the second name be called.

"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour."

Beauxbatons students began to cheer loudly at the announcement, their silk streamers soaring through the air like birds. A small number of the researchers had burst into a French melody while others snatched up their glasses of champagne and toasted each other heartily.

"_Je la sais! Je la sais!_" one of the young men squealed in excitement, throwing more of the streamers into the air.

The cheering and clapping died away just as the static fizz of the radio sounded once more. With only one more school needing a champion, Hogwarts held its breath and waited for their announcement.

"The Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory."

Instantly, the former Hogwarts students burst into their thunderous cheers. Large luminous yellow balloons began to fill the air above them while the school song was chanted at many different paces. Charlie applauded at the name of the champion along with his old school mates, as Abby tapped his shoulder.

"I don't know that name," she said quietly close to his ear.

"Me neither," Charlie shrugged, still clapping in support.

"He's a Hufflepuff. My house!" the man with a decorated face shouted, his fists punching the air in delight.

"Oh well," Charlie sighed with a smile. "We have a champion at the least."

"Excellent!" the voice of Dumbledore came over the radio again as the cheering dulled to a roar. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering you champion on, you will contribute in a very real -"

The announcement suddenly halted in mid-sentence. Everyone in the room paused, looking at the radio curiously. Herb stared at the contraption, tapping it with his palm to see if it was just staled, but still no voice emitted from the wireless. A small chatter began to stir, wondering what had caused the malfunction, when finally Albus Dumbledore's voice came again.

"Harry Potter."

In two words, the entire room had drained of all energy. There was no cheer, no clap, and not even a gasp at the fourth name announced that evening. Everyone could only stare at the radio in deathly silence, being in complete shock.

"Harry Potter?" someone finally piped up before anyone else.

"Ze Boy Who Lived?" a female voice followed.

The chatter finally began, everyone whispering the name they had all grown up hearing over and over. The boy was a legend in their world. There wasn't a single person who didn't know his name, but how had his name come up during a Triwizard Tournament announcement?

"By Merlin," Charlie shook his head, holding his palm to his temple.

"What Charlie?" Abby asked, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

"That's impossible," Charlie sighed. "He can't compete. He's only fourteen. I met him, and he's only fourteen. And there are only supposed to be three champions. How did a fourth get in there?"

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Herb shut off the radio and took control over the room with his deafening voice. "And we best not jump to conclusions on that last part, probably just a little crossover with the wires or something, I'm sure. I'll be sure to write to the Ministry of Magic in London tonight and clear that up just to be sure. Until then, best not worry, right?"

It had been too late though. Charlie could already feel the conclusions being made all around him, and the chill of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' eyes tingling on his skin.

**A/N:** Some language stuff to provide translation for. In Italian, _mille grazie_ means "thank you very much." _Je la sais_ is the French translation of "I know her."

Much of the speech coming out of the wireless radio is quoted directly from Dumbledore's speech from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I already stated I don't lay claim to it, but that's a direct reference I'm making.

And that's all I can say for now. Keep reading and hopefully keep enjoying.


	11. Chapter Ten: Changing Plans

**Chapter Ten: Changing Plans**

Rain splattered against the windows of the mess hall, making a rhythmic pattering on the glass as streams of water slid down the panes and fell into the moist grass below. Misty steam filled the skies surrounding the dragon reserve, the lizard creatures' flaming breath evaporating the precipitation that fell from above around their private cave domains. Rainy weather promised a day of difficult and gruelling work to anyone who had to be in the fields, and Charlie should have felt grateful for the fact that he was indoors doing deskwork. However, with the cold aura of everyone's discontentment over the recent Triwizard planning to include the reluctant fourth champion pummelling at him in the form of fatal glares, Charlie would have rather faced the elements and been outside in the humid haze.

Sitting at a corner table in the mess hall, parchment spread on every inch of the mahogany surface, Charlie's quill moved quickly, writing down bits of information and transferring little facts from one paper to the next. The new arrangements concerning the tournament had brought on a tonne of paperwork with it. With an extra dragon needed, there were the necessary documents to fill out for its smooth journey into the United Kingdom, and then the people in charge of the dragon. About ten more people had to come along in order to maintain the extra creature, and their passport information had to be sent over to London. Herb had been understanding and given Charlie a few days off to get things in order, only two weeks remaining until they would have to leave for Hogwarts.

The words on the pieces of parchment began to blur before Charlie's eyes as he stared at them, his vision fizzling as his brain inched towards a frustrated explosion. Putting down the quill, he placed his forehead in his palms and sighed, hoping his eyesight would clear up in one heavy breath.

"Good morning, Charlie," a familiar voice greeted him as it took the seat across at the table.

Looking up from the blurred papers, Charlie squinted to make out the figure in front of him. Focusing his eyes, it didn't take long before he could respond. "Hello Bella."

"You look exhausted," Bella commented, shaking her head and placing a tray with a goblet of fresh pumpkin juice in front of him, her eyes scanning the loads of work scattered along the table. "And still all this work."

"It needs to be done," Charlie replied, looking at all the forms that still needed to be completed. "The whole inclusion of the fourth champion changed all our plans, and everything."

"I know," she nodded with a weak smile. "All the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang alumni have been so cold about all of this."

Bella glanced behind her at the group of researchers and dragon keepers who sat at the long table with their coffees, teas, and juices, the odd evil glare being tossed towards Charlie. Whispering amongst each other and falling silent as Bella's eyes met with theirs, it was clear as to what they had been discussing.

"It's silly, really," Bella sighed, turning back to Charlie as he drank from the goblet. "Lots of people from the research department think so, even some from the two rival schools. But I mean, really now. There is no way that you or any other person from Hogwarts here had anything to do with the name drawing. You said yourself that even the Ministry there can't figure out what happened. Harry Potter doesn't even know how his name wound up in the goblet. If anything, we should be more concerned about his safety than his actual entry. But, my point is, it's no one's fault, except for the person who actually did it, but why place their hatred on those present?"

"Ask them," Charlie said sarcastically, putting his half-cup of pumpkin juice back down on the tray.

"Well, the lot of us still support the tournament as a whole," Bella spoke reassuringly, placing her soft palm on Charlie's hand and giving him a little squeeze. "What has been done has been done and there is nothing we can do to change that. And in the meanwhile you are doing an excellent job in leading this stressful operation, if I may say so myself."

"Thanks," Charlie muttered quietly, his frustration with others overtaking his gratitude towards Bella.

Going to grab his goblet off the tray, Charlie realised it was no longer sitting on the tray where he had left it, grabbing at air rather than the cup. Instead it was hovering above his papers, and pouring the contents all over the release forms for the Hungarian Horntail.

"Oh no," Charlie gasped, grabbing the cup out of midair and pushing the surrounding papers out of the path of the cold liquid, sending many to the floor.

Bella turned over her shoulder again, giving an evil glare to the people laughing loudly amongst themselves at the long table, and Julien Travert who smugly placed his wand back in his pocket.

"Let me help you, Charlie," Bella offered, removing her wand from the pocket of her lab coat.

With a quick muttering of a spell, Bella's magnolia wand began to siphon the pumpkin juice out of the paper. The large orange stains evaporated like the rain hitting the dragon's flaming breath before their very eyes, shrinking in size at a fast rate. Once the large stains had been removed from the forms, Bella held the parchment to her nose, taking a deep whiff.

"I hope the Ministry likes the smell of pumpkin juice," she shrugged with a weak smile, holding the parchment out for Charlie. 

"Thanks," Charlie muttered again, gathering all of the papers and forms on the table and floor, shoving them into his folder with a long sigh.

"I'm going to get back to the laboratory," Bella nodded, taking a step away from the table with the tray and empty goblet in her hands. "You could come and work in the archives if you like. Tamara wouldn't mind at all, and no one would disturb you there. Especially not immature petty co-workers."

Bella glared again at the childish dragon keepers and researchers huddled together at the table, threatening in her hazel eyes to go and inform Herb about what had just happened, sending them into a wave of silence.

"It's all right," Charlie shook his head, placing his quill into the flaps of his folder. "I should go talk to Herb and let him check through what I've done so far. He said he wanted to see me sometime today anyway."

"You should tell him about...them too," Bella whispered, flipping her head towards the guilty party nearby. "Maybe he could talk to them or make an announcement of some sort."

"It's fine, Bella," Charlie shook his head, disregarding the suggestion. In his mind, his tattling would only begat more trouble with the tournament, something that couldn't be risked so late in the planning. "Best just let him see my work."

"I'll see you later then," Bella nodded, her eyes going towards the fogged windows and the haze rising from the dragon's domain as Charlie brushed past her. Moving to leave, she took one last look at those who had pulled the evil trick on Charlie, making them divert their gaze away from her own.

- - -

A loud snore echoed in Herb's office as Charlie quietly crept into the space, trying not to awaken his boss abruptly as the door clicked shut behind him. Sitting in his swivel chair with his head slumped along the back and his arms crossed over a green and orange tropically printed shirt, Herb dozed peacefully with a copy of the Daily Prophet on his desk, open and waiting to be read. Slowly Charlie tiptoed to stand by his working superior, tapping him on the shoulder lightly.

"Herb," Charlie said, trying to nudge his shoulder into the realm of the awake. "Herb."

If anything, Charlie's little nudges to the shoulder only made Herb snore louder than he had been, even though Charlie didn't think it could increase in volume any more. Desperately, Charlie put down his files and cleared his throat, preparing for the tactic his mother used, which never failed at getting him out of bed.

"HERB!" he shouted right next to his manager's closest ear.

As his blue eyes darted open and his body shook out of slumber, Herb toppled out of his chair at the scream of his name. Without hesitation, Charlie grabbed his boss' arm, keeping him somewhat upright as Herb grabbed the ledge of his desk to prevent himself from falling to the ground.

"Oh, Charlie," Herb started trying to steady his legs, still a little stunned from the surprise wake-up call. "Nice to see you, lad."

"Sorry to awaken you, sir," Charlie apologized immediately as he helped Herb back into his chair.

"No trouble, no trouble," Herb tossed Charlie's worry away as he sunk back into his seat cushions, pulling himself into his desk to see what he had been doing before falling asleep. "Have you seen the recent Daily Prophet? All about the Triwizard Tournament, you know. An edition about the champions, but it seems to be mostly about the mysterious fourth one here. Doesn't really mention the other three much. And I don't think Krum is spelt with a C. All about the youngest champion, really."

"About Harry Potter," Charlie named the mysterious champion as he took a seat on the other side of Herb's desk, looking upside down at the picture of the famous Boy-Who-Lived he had only met that summer.

"Well, can't blame the Prophet, to some extent," Herb sighed, shaking his head as he looked over a small part of the article. "He is a famous boy. Not a single witch or wizard who doesn't know his name. Poor kid's been through so much. Still cries at night over his parents, it seems. Tragic."

"I've got most of the paperwork done." Charlie decided to change the subject, pushing his folders and files towards Herb.

"Oh, good," Herb exclaimed excitedly, tossing the newspaper aside and opening up the files and glancing over Charlie's tedious hours of work. "Good, good, good. Seems in order so far. Any problems with anything?"

"No," Charlie replied right away, not wanting to bother going into the details of how boring it all was.

"Excellent," Herb smiled, tucking everything back into its proper place and sliding it back across the desk to Charlie. "Oh, and I got your answer for how to transport the dragons. The Ministry of Magic has been kind and provided some cages for the dragons and special high-heat-charmed crates for the eggs. They'll be brought here in good time. And I've got Abby working on a sleeping draught that should last from here to Hogwarts. She'll be working on it now, I suspect, if you would like to see how far along she's come with that."

"Thank you, Herb," Charlie nodded, taking his files and rising to leave.

"Anything else that needs sorting out?" Herb inquired, picking up the newspaper once again.

Charlie thought about Bella's suggestion, about telling Herb about the people in his international organisation. He considered for the moment spilling out how cruel and cold the lot of them had been since the whole fourth champion issue, how none of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang boys other than Simeon had spoken to him or any other alumni of Hogwarts since Halloween, how many had threatened to leave the tournament preparation only two weeks before it was to happen, and why the parchment smelled of pumpkin juice.

"No, but thank you," Charlie answered at long last.

"Very well," Herb nodded. "If you're on your way to the infirmary, take something to Abby for me. It came by owl just a while ago."

Picking up a scrolled newspaper off his desk, Herb tossed the message over into Charlie's waiting Seeker hand, which caught it like a flying Snitch before he walked out of the room bound for the sanctuary of the infirmary. Turning the scroll in his hands, as he walked along the empty corridors, he scanned the unfamiliar black bolded title in wonder. 

"The Healer Herald," he muttered curiously.

- - -

"Thanks for bringing that," Abby said graciously as she stirred the contents of her cauldron counter-clockwise in a vigorous motion while thick azure steam spilled out over the pewter lip. "I've been wondering when my subscription would finally arrive."

"No problem," Charlie breathed heavily, taking a seat as he wiped his forehead of perspiration and placed Abby's newspaper and his own files on her desk.

The warm and humid air around the infirmary had hit Charlie the second he had opened the door, forcing him to remove his yellow knit sweater. The hot blue haze ascending from the cauldron mixed with the high heat of the fire needed to concoct the potion had transformed the room, making it feel like an Amazon rainforest and defying the normal November temperature of Romania.

"So," Charlie gasped, using his wand to blow cool air into his sweaty face, "how is that sleeping draught coming along?"

"Another two or three batches of this should last the dragons a round trip," Abby replied, wiping her own forehead and brushing aside her soaked strands of hair. She lifted the large wooden spoon to reveal the smooth syrupy blackcurrant potion to examine before continuing on with her counter-clockwise stirs. "It'll all be ready for use as of tomorrow or the day after that."

"That's good," Charlie sighed of relief as his wand continued to cool him with a chilly breeze.

Slinking back into the wooden chair comfortably, his eyes began to droop as if the fumes from the sleeping potion mixed with general exhaustion from the morning took effect over him. Leaning his head back, and putting his feet up on the desk, Charlie was quite prepared for a nap right in the middle of the infirmary with his wand still sending cool waves of air his way.

"Feet off my book," Abby's voice snapped Charlie's brown eyes out of dozing, and making him realise his left foot was resting on the open pages of Abby's copy of _Advanced Potion-Making_ by Libatius Borage.

Muttering a little sorry, Charlie removed his feet from the desk, rustling the pages as he moved quickly. Sitting straight up, he took the battered copy of the potions book into his own hands, making sure he hadn't left a scuff from his shoes on them. Brushing the dirt away from the words, he hadn't damaged the book besides leaving a small smudge mark in the margin, but a gasp still escaped his lips as his eyes widened in surprise.

"You're making Draught of Living Death?" Charlie exclaimed, partially in shock as he read the title.

"Yes," Abby answered, barely looking up at Charlie from her work at the cauldron where she persisted to stir the blackcurrant liquid, which had begun to fade slightly into a dark violet.

"You're using that for our dragons?" Charlie gaped, letting his wand fall to the floor as he stood to stare into the cauldron, his brown eyes wide in fear.

"Well of course," Abby replied with a shrug of her shoulders, as if it had been an easy question to answer. "It's the most potent sleeping potion known to our kind. Why wouldn't I use it?"

Charlie looked as though he was about to collapse on the infirmary floor as he muttered incomprehensibly, his tongue becoming knotted as he tried to speak. His eyes barely moved, choosing to fixate on the potion that could put a wizard to sleep for years.

"Don't worry, Charlie," Abby began to explain, making Charlie's worried tongue stop mumbling in a completely unknown dialect as one hand rested on his shoulder and her green eyes directed into his fearful ones. "Yes, it can knock a wizard out for years, but a two tonne dragon. A creature of that size, it acts like a very simple draft."

The worry on Charlie's mind fleeted at the instant she had explained her actions, his body going slightly limp as he nearly fainted on the floor next to the stirring cauldron. "You had me worried there for a moment, Abigail Ridges."

"Really?" she gasped, her eyebrows rising near her hairline as one hand covered her gaping mouth. "I hadn't noticed. Were you really worried that I'd put the dragons to sleep for years?"

Not thinking of a comeback to Abby's teasing, Charlie put her book back on the desk and proceeded to find his fallen wand. Once again, the heat had crept along his skin, making him perspire heavily and soak him from head to toe. The cool air sprouting from the tip of his wand was welcome relief as he watched Abby carry on with her stirring.

"That seems to take a long time," Charlie commented, checking his watch to observe how long his friend had been pouring over the cauldron.

"It always takes a long time," Abby shook her head. "It has to be stirred counter-clockwise until it becomes as clear as water, and unfortunately it changes colour very slowly."

Abby pulled her spoon out for Charlie to see that the concoction was currently a dark lavender shade, progression from the blackcurrant it had began as, but far from being clear. With a sigh, Abby dunked the spoon back into the pewter cauldron and went about her task.

"So, how's all that paperwork coming along?" Abby asked, looking away from her potion. "You have to send all of it to London by the end of the week."

"I'm aware," Charlie replied with a heavy groan held on the tip of his tongue. "I'll tell you this though, if I never see another Ministry standard release form for as long as I live, it'll be too soon."

"That bad?" Abby sighed sympathetically, brushing her limp brunette bangs aside.

"Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are being worse," Charlie shook his head in frustration. "But they are giving paperwork a good run for the Galleon when it comes to annoying me."

"If it's any consolation, they aren't being nice to any of the alumni of Hogwarts," Abby pointed out. "I think they're all avoiding coming here. I saw Aubert Legrand in the mess hall with what looked like a broken index finger, and he refused to let a cheater like me mend it. And considering how the cold is going around, I'm finding it odd how so few have come for a potion."

"They're just idiots," Charlie scoffed, resting his head on his palm. "And I really hope they don't pull any funny business while at Hogwarts, or in flight, or something."

"I'm sure nothing will happen," Abby shook her head. "I mean that would be dangerous beyond belief."

"Well, nobody is beneath anything here," Charlie sighed.

Abby pulled another spoonful of her brew out, which was now becoming a light lilac to her enjoyment. "I guess you just need to have faith that people will come around and realise we aren't at fault here. It is the truth."

"I suppose," Charlie shrugged, not holding much hope in her reassurances as he slumped back into the chair.

- - -

"We should just take out dinner tonight," Charlie sighed as he walked down the corridor towards the mess hall with Abby. "I'm not in the mood to be stared at as if I have some disease. Think we can eat in the infirmary?"

"We just spent all day there," Abby pointed out, zipping up her sweater tight trying to adjust her body to being in the normal temperature environment again. "I don't think we'll be bothered, we're quite late for dinner."

Charlie opened the door to the mess hall, letting Abby in before himself. Trying not to attract attention, they quickly made their way to the counter where Nisha was serving Portuguese chicken, and to Charlie's dismay, where Julien Travert was getting a second helping of supper. 

"You know, I'm not that hungry," Charlie whispered to Abby, looking longingly at the exit and beginning to walk towards it before Abby could object to his sudden inclination to fast.

"Oh, Charlie," Julien looked up to see the redheaded dragon keeper making a run for the door. Running ahead of Charlie and blocking the way, he had no choice but to face his bitter co-worker.

"What is it, Julien?" Charlie asked, trying to make his exit faster.

Julien looked back at the few people who were still eating behind him, most whom barely noticed that the two were speaking. Clearing his throat, Julien spoke up, "I would like to apologize for my actions earlier today, Charlie. Zey were unkind, and I am sorry for what 'appened. Please forgive me for such foolish be'aviour."

"Oh." Charlie was taken back by the sudden sorry, rendered nearly speechless as Julien bowed his head in shame before him. "It's all right."

"_Merci beaucoup_," Julien nodded graciously as he turned to reclaim his seat amongst the others.

"What was that about?" Abby asked, approaching Charlie with two trays laden with chicken and goblets of pumpkin juice and water on them.

Charlie turned to her, taking the tray with a hearty smile. "I think we can eat in here without accusation now."

"You are late for dinner," the voice of Simeon came up next to Charlie, as his Bulgarian roommate came alongside him. "Vhat kept you?"

"Things that no longer matter," Charlie replied, sitting down at the nearest table to him, not caring as to who sat around him, as everyone seemed quite content with having him in their company.

From a distance at the countertop, two women watched the scene with wide smiles on their faces. With satisfaction over what had played out right in from of them, they couldn't help but giggle and shake their heads over the silliness that had hovered over the reserve the past few days.

"I knew talking to them was the right thing to do," Bella grinned happily, flipping her curls of brown hair back, generally pleased with the way it had played out before her large hazel eyes.

Without words, Nisha shot the young woman thumbs up, knowing she had done a good thing.

**A/N:** Many may already know this by fact or just logical guessing, but _merci beaucoup_ is the French for "thank you."

The scene with Herb has a miniature background. It was taken from my original opening to this fanfiction, when I had originally planned for it to take place during Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In that, Herb woke Charlie up from sleeping on the job, and later Charlie reciprocated the act. It managed to squirm back into the story, because I liked it as a comedic scene.

And I think that's all for now. Keep reading and enjoying.


	12. Chapter Eleven: Hogwarts Bound

**Chapter Eleven: Hogwarts Bound**

"Leaving at zero seven hundred hours! It is zero six hundred fifty three people! Move! Move! Move!"

The force of a Sonorus charm bearing the voice of Valerie Walters echoed over the misty morning's open field, as everyone on the ground was busy at work tightening ropes and making the final adjustments to their plans. Though the sun had not yet made an appearance in the sky and frosty air lingered in the atmosphere around them, everyone was wide-awake, yelling out instructions over each other and preparing for the long journey to Hogwarts.

"Asking Valerie to come at the last minute may have been the smartest thing I ever did," Charlie smirked to himself, putting his new dragon hide gloves on his frozen hands as he walked by some of the team members getting prepared for flight.

"You are sounding very arrogant today," Simeon commented, hitting his friend in the upper arm.

"Get into your position, Slovensky, I've got to make a last minute check of everything," Charlie mockingly bossed his best friend into taking his place in the flight line as he ran to Valerie's side while zipping up his thick winter jacket.

"Everything is ready to go, Charlie," she announced proudly, acting as if she were a private in the army addressing a commanding officer while handing him her checklist. "The dragons have been properly sedated. All knots have been reinforced and charmed to not untie mid-flight. Eggs have been placed in the highly heated containers as provided by the Ministry. All that is needed are Disillusionment Charms before take-off. We are ready for the execution of Project Tournament."

"Thanks." Charlie blinked in confusion, his head catching up with everything Valerie had just stated. For a moment, the question in his mind was who was actually in charge, him or her.

The distraction of some men having a wizard's duel in the middle of the field drew Valerie away, leaving Charlie to watch as the rest of the team took their spots in the flight plan and the staying workers and researchers watched from a distance in awe and admiration, eager to see their co-workers and friends take off. Just as Valerie had stated, everything was ready to go much to Charlie's delight.

"Ah, there you are," the voice of Herb rang in Charlie's ears, inching closer as his boss ran past the other workers to his side. "I see we're almost ready to take off."

"Yes sir," Charlie nodded, his breath becoming a light mist in the unforgiving cold morning.

"You've done good, boy," Herb commented, patting Charlie on the back with his gloved hand, drawing back as he shivered in his jacket, bundling up tighter across his belly and lowering his head so his neck became invisible. "Blasted cold morning to be leaving on."

Herb shook in his coat as he wandered away to talk to the workers surrounding the dragon crates. Eyes drifting over the spectators, it seemed that every person had come to see them off, researchers and dragon keepers alike. Even Nisha had dragged herself away from her regular post in the kitchen in order to watch the happenings of that early November morning.

At the end of the row of onlookers, two slowly broke away from the crowd, walking towards him in the middle of the open field in their full winter garb. Even across the fogged field, Charlie could clearly make out the bright red and gold coloured scarf that adorned the neck of one of them. The other was easily recognized due to her light pink winter jacket, as well as the cheerful skip in her step.

"Excited?" Bella smiled as she hopped in front of Charlie, beaming as brightly as her outfit.

"What else can I be?" Charlie replied with a grin towards his two friends standing in front of him.

"I really wish I was a dragon keeper now," Bella sighed, longingly staring at the workers performing their last minute tasks. "It would be so fun to go and see Hogwarts and the Tournament task. Mind you, the likelihood that I could handle a full-grown dragon is slim."

"You're not making the entire journey in one flight, are you?" Abby asked, tugging her red toque down over her cold ears as her long strands of brown hair hung loose along the shoulders of her thick black coat. "It's quite a distance to Hogwarts."

"No," Charlie answered right away, sensing her concern for safety. "We have a stopover planned for a few hours in Switzerland, give the guys some time to relax, stretch their legs and get a bit of sleep. Start again, and then there's another stop once we cross the Channel at the Port of Dover. The Ministry is meeting us to make sure everything is in order and all. Then it's straight onto Hogwarts."

"Zero six hundred fifty seven!" the Sonorus charm on Valerie's voice rang out again. "Prepare to perform Disillusionment Charms." 

"I've got to go say goodbye to Simeon," Bella announced, looking back to where the dark-haired dragon keeper was mounting a Shooting Star broomstick. She leapt into Charlie's arms, giving him a quick hug before scampering towards her other friend. "Good luck, Charlie."

"Have fun," Abby stated plainly, her bare hand resting on Charlie's shoulder, "and root for Potter."

"I will," Charlie nodded with a laugh. "There's no other champion for a Gryffindor alumni to root for."

Mimicking Charlie's nod and laugh, Abby chuckled heartily as her fingers played with the worn and frayed edges of her old school scarf. "Do you have a Gryffindor scarf in your bag?"

"No," Charlie answered honestly with a shrug, scratching the back of his head as his cheeks flushed red in embarrassment over not having his old Gryffindor scarf. "I sort of gave it to my sister when I graduated. She needed one."

"Oh!" Without even taking the time to blink, Abby's hands went to her neck, unwrapping the long red and gold piece from around her and throwing it around Charlie's jacket collar. "Take mine. You need to show support for Gryffindor, you know."

Charlie didn't have time to respond as Abby wrapped her scarf around him, making sure to cover his bare neck as if she were a mother bundling up her child before he played in the snow. Once the long piece of woven material hung gracefully from around his collarbone, she slapped Charlie in the arm lightly before disappearing into the crowd with a quick, "See you in a few days."

"We're ready for your lead, Charlie," Valerie announced, pointing towards Charlie's broom, a Comet Two Sixty, lying on the ground. "It's zero six hundred fifty nine."

Everyone else behind him had already mounted their broomsticks, eagerly waiting in their places for Charlie to lead them off into the open sky above. Summoning the Comet Two Sixty into his gloved hand, Charlie straddled it, pushing off a few feet into the air as the crowd watched with wide eyes. Pointing his wand to his Adam's apple, he cleared his throat.

"To Hogwarts," the Sonorus charm carried his voice over everyone as they kicked off on their own brooms.

The onlookers cheered wildly, applauding and screaming in excitement as everyone tapped their heads with their wands and vanished into the air; bound for Hogwarts while right on schedule.

- - -

The tiny picturesque city of Lucerne sat sweetly along the snowy mountain range within view from where the dragon keepers had set up a temporary camp. With bright purple smokeless fires burning beneath pans of sausages and eggs, the team of keepers had segregated themselves in small tight circles, talking amongst themselves as they rested from the morning's journey. Stretching out their stiff muscles while putting much needed food into their stomachs, the main topic of debate seemed to be outcome of the champions' task.

"Durmstrang's champion should do vell," Mikhail Volkov assured his circle as Charlie pulled a few sausages out of the frying pan in front of them. "No doubt about it. He vill know vhat to do."

"Lot of pressure though," argued Ardel Collins, wagging his finger. "He's got a name to live up to, being the greatest Seeker in the world."

"He vill live up to his name," Mikhail rebuked. "He vill succeed best amongst all the champions, I know it."

"Don't be so sure," the Irish accent of Shane Kennedy pricked the Durmstrang alumni's bubble. "Oi was en Hufflepuff, and we're a determined bunch. Diggory is goin' to put forth a good chance."

Before Shane could go off about the greatness of his house, Charlie rose and walked along the frozen ground, passing other groups in similar conversations, catching bits and pieces and as he went.

"Ze little boy, 'e will not get far. Only fourth year! 'E does not know about getting past ze dragons."

"My Galleons will be on Krum. He seems to be a safe bet."

"What about that Delacour girl?"

The voices of champion talk faded as Charlie walked towards the edge overlooking the quiet city of Lucerne past an enormous crystal blue lake. Sitting on the edge, Simeon stared down at the tiny antique town, the mid-day sun causing the water of Lake Lucerne to shimmer as if diamonds sat on the bottom. Taking a seat next to his best friend, Charlie handed Simeon one of the plates containing sausage and eggs, breathing in the magnificent view beneath them.

"Beautiful little place," Charlie sighed, scanning the scene. "I sort of wish I had a camera."

With only the subtle sound of Simeon chewing the small meal, Charlie gazed over the scenic city, watching boats laden with tourists cross the unfrozen lake within distance of the famous Chapel Bridge. In the shadow of the Alpine mountain range, the view was like something straight out of a travel guide, absolutely perfect.

"Hey, this is your first time in years outside Romania and the reserve," Charlie realised, looking at Simeon, who was hungrily devouring his food. "How does it feel to finally be abroad?"

Simeon shrugged disinterestedly. "It does not feel any different from bring in Romania, besides having something different to look at."

"That's sort of the point, Simeon." Charlie inhaled deeply, taking in a lungful of fresh mountain air. "You really need to get off the reserve more often."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Simeon came back quickly, chomping his last bite of food. "I vill go back to our tent. Vaking up early for flying across the continent is tiring."

"Sleep well," said Charlie as Simeon got up from his seat and scooted off towards the tents and resting brooms, not taking his eyes away from the tourist boats and the beauty of the gleaming waters.

- - -

The sun had already become low in the sky as the team flew over the English Channel from Calais to Dover, invisible to the unsuspecting Muggles taking the ferry across the water. The cold salt water began to make everyone shiver and shake, everyone hopeful that England and their destination were drawing closer. From where he hovered at the midpoint between the clouds and the sea, Charlie could faintly make out the chalky white cliffs of Dover, signalling that the second third of their journey was almost over.

"Port of Dover, just ahead," Charlie yelled out to invisible Valerie as she soared behind him. "Prepare for landing shortly."

Within seconds, Valerie's voice loudly repeated his words to the rest of the unseen group following them as he flew ahead straight towards the white cliffs. Straightening his body position, nearly lying flat on the handle, he accelerated to the top speed of the Comet Two Sixty, his destination becoming clearer and closer in every passing second. Passing over the Muggle customs office and the small portside town, Charlie lowered the altitude of his broom until he landed with a run along the grassy summit of the white cliffs. With a tap of his wand he reappeared magically, spinning around to the ocean to see that the team was only a moment away from landing as well.

"Right on time, very good," a voice rang out in the howling seaside air.

Whipping around, there were four wizards in Ministry garb headed towards him. Two of the four Charlie recognized as the organizers from the Quidditch World Cup, Bartemius Crouch and Ludovic Bagman. Both had also been the Ministry representatives for the Triwizard Tournament, though it had been Crouch to personally send all the owls to Romania. The wizard walking next to Crouch was unfamiliar to Charlie, sporting a scrubby looking brown beard and small glasses over grey eyes. The final man heading towards him was one too familiar for words, and quite a surprise to see.

"Dad!" Charlie exclaimed as his thin father in patched green robes ran ahead of the bunch and took his second eldest son's hand. "What are you doing...?"

"Couldn't miss you coming over," Arthur Weasley explained with a chuckle, patting Charlie on the back. "Slow day at the Ministry anyway."

"Ah, Mr Charlie Weasley," Crouch approached, extending his hand formally with a curt head bow. "We met just this summer, I believe."

"I recall Mr Crouch," nodded Charlie, shaking his hand firmly, and then turning to shake Bagman's. "And Mr Bagman."

"And may we introduce Amos Diggory," Crouch gestured towards the tall bearded man next to him, "from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"And parent of the real Hogwarts champion," boasted Diggory proudly, eying the Gryffindor scarf around Charlie's neck suspiciously.

"Pleasure, sir," Charlie greeted politely, though choosing not to extend his hand in welcome, as Diggory had not invited him to do so. Looking over his shoulder, the first half of his team had already landed on the grass and become visible for the Ministry representatives to see.

"Let's get a look at these fantastic beasts, shall we?" Ludo suggested, his round blue eyes lighting up like a child. Leading the way for Diggory and Crouch, he approached the first of the sleeping dragon crates containing the Chinese Fireball, peering in through the little air holes in the fire-resistant wood.

"So, how's mum?" asked Charlie, turning back to his father.

"Frantic," Arthur truthfully replied, not bothering to try to hide the fact from his older son. "Having absolute kittens over this whole Harry being in the Tournament business. She's dreadfully worried, as is expected. Couldn't tell her I knew about this task already, and why you were in the country for it. Best that she not know, actually."

Charlie nodded, already imagining what his mother was going to say the second she discovered that fourteen-year-old Harry Potter would have to get past a dragon.

"She's expecting you for dinner tonight," mentioned Arthur. "She's probably got it all on the stove as we speak."

"I'll get away once everyone else arrives and starts to relax," said Charlie, watching as the third dragon crate reappeared on the cliff. "We have about two hours allotted before we head for Hogwarts."

"I'll tell her to keep it warm for you," Arthur reassured, patting his son's back again. "I know for fact you can count on a triple-layered chocolate cake."

- - -

The taste of chocolate dessert and hot coffee lingered on Charlie's tongue long after the meal had been finished, lasting through much of the flight towards Hogwarts. The sun had since sunk into the western skies, casting all of the country into a moonlit and starry night to travel by. They were scheduled for an arrival around midnight, and being informed by Colin Aiken that they had recently passed over his hometown of Glasgow, it seemed as though they were well ahead of their planned timing.

"Charlie," Aubert Legrand's voice came alongside the invisible leader of the pack. "I think we may 'ave a little problem."

"What's that?" asked Charlie, trying to keep his speed steady as he spoke.

"I zink ze dragons are beginning to wake," explained Aubert. "Matthew Engles said zere was a growling sound from ze Short-Snout crate."

"Well, we're almost there," Charlie responded to his invisible team member. "Keep an eye on it. If it persists, let me know."

Aubert's voice vanished from Charlie's ear cavity, letting the leader know he had gotten back into his position with the Swedish Short-Snout. The last thing that needed to happen on this journey was for a dragon to awaken in mid-air, and Charlie prayed silently that it wouldn't happen on the last leg of the trip.

Peering below, there was a set of train tracks leading through the open countryside of Scotland. Charlie had seen them many times before, when a gleaming red steam engine travelled over them about four times a year, taking eager young minds to the greatest school in the entire world of wizard. They were indeed closing in on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"We'll make it," Charlie whispered to himself quietly.

As soon as those words escaped his lips, there was the definite sound if a dragon's growling coming from a nearby crate, followed with a bit of smoke escaping from the Disillusionment Charm.

"Charlie!" Aubert's voice returned.

"I heard that one," said Charlie. "We're close, so just...try a Stunning Spell."

In the distance there was a red gleam of an old steam engine, glowing brightly in the light of the glittering stars. They were close to Hogsmeade Station, and only moments away from the immense Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts. Behind him, the Short-Snout team was attempting a few Stunning Spells for a mild sedation, though another deafening rumble was evident from another crate carrying the Welsh Green.

Over Hogsmeade and past the deep Black Lake, the old medieval castle came into view. Few lights came from the windows, the students probably asleep from the long day already, allowing the dragon keepers to fly in undetected. Removing his own Disillusionment Charm from his head, Charlie's eyes scanned over the dark forest, looking for the clearing that was prepared for them. Deep in the middle of the forest, with a large pen already set up for their use, he spotted it and waited for the rest of the now visible team with not another second to spare.

The first two crates landed in the pen, flames and smoke coming out from the air holes already as the angry dragons within hollered for their freedom from captivity. They had made it just in time, while the other two dragons were just beginning to growl and make stirring noises in their spaces.

"That vas close," Simeon stated plainly, pulling his broom up alongside Charlie as the dove in for a landing in the clearing. "And ve are ahead of schedule too."

"We made it though," Charlie sighed relief as some of the workers began to untie the ropes and knots on the crates. Throwing the Comet Two Sixty aside on the cold ground, Charlie's wand was removed from his jacket, ready to get to work, when Simeon's arm stopped him.

"One thing," Simeon halted Charlie in his spot. "Velcome back."

Even in the shadows of the forest while dragons had been roaring for freedom and half of their co-workers were still trying to land safely, Simeon had been right. Charlie was back.

**A/N:** I don't think there's much to note about this chapter, as it should be straight forward. For anyone wondering, I have been to Lucerne and the description there is accurate. There is a pretty lake and famous bridge.

Props to Ali of Phoenix Prophecy, who helped in capturing the essence of the Irish accent for Shane Kennedy's lines.

Yeah, hope you're liking!


	13. Chapter Twelve: Rock Cakes and Reminisce

**abigail: **It's nice to hear from you again. Thank you for continuing to read and enjoy. You may not think you're good with reviewing, but I appreciate you taking time to do so. If you like, you could comment with a favourite line or scene, or even predictions for the future of the story. I'm always interested in what others think might happen. But thank you for your kind review.

- - -

**Chapter Twelve: Rock Cakes and Reminiscence**

The village of Hogsmeade was very quiet on Sunday mornings, most shopkeepers wanting to sleep late for that one relaxed day of the week and not open until a more appropriate hour at midday. Normally crowded streets were void of any life, and the little hidden wizard town slept peacefully through the morning with all shops closed. Honeydukes was, however, a different story from the rest of Hogsmeade. The owners of the quaint little sweetshop, Ambrosius and Ambrosia Flume, were always happy to open on a cold winter morning, even if it was slow business, and serve sole customers with wide grins. Some of the residents around the village suspected it might have been the fact that the couple was constantly high on sugar from their sweets, but the more optimistic youngsters thought it was just a cheerful thing to do. Either way it worked, Charlie Weasley was grateful that they were open for business.

"My, it's been ages since I've been here," he sighed blissfully as he walked in through the door, smelling the fresh and memorable scent of chocolate wafting around the shop. "Four years at least, when I was in seventh year."

"I thought ve vere making a run for Butterbeer," commented Simeon as he unbuttoned the top half of his long jacket in the warm candy store.

"We will," Charlie reassured only half listening as he gazed at all the sweets surrounding him. "The Three Broomsticks doesn't open for another half hour. And believe me, I don't think the people in our tent would mind us stopping here if we bring them back some sweets."

"Hello dears! Would you boys fancy a free sample?"

Popping up in front of Charlie with a large silver tray of chocolate shoved beneath his nose, Madame Flume appeared with a large grin spread on her face, her rosy cheeks complimenting her magenta robes. With large loose curls hanging from a bun on the back of her head, she looked more like an angel of sweets than a candy shopkeeper.

"Thanks," Charlie laughed, picking up a small shard of the famous Honeydukes specialty and biting into it, letting the warm delicate taste melt into his tongue.

"You know, it's all made right in the cellar kitchen," Madame Flume explained brightly as she moved the tray to offer Simeon some. "Secret recipe, makes it extra nice."

Simeon picked a piece of chocolate from her silver tray, popping it into his mouth as she scampered towards the cellar door to help Mr Flume as he charmed large crates of Jelly Slugs and Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans to float into the shop for shelving. "If you need anything, just give a shout. And help yourself to the samples."

"Good chocolate?" Charlie asked Simeon as he swallowed the last bit of his own.

Simeon merely nodded, his mouth too full to speak. Madame Flume and Mr Flume got to work on restocking a few empty shelves behind their countertop, allowing Charlie to glance around the old schoolboy haunt. He had never heard of a single student in his whole career at Hogwarts who didn't enjoy a long visit to Honeydukes Sweetshop, everything about a trip there being delightful. From the sights, smells, and tastes, there was little that could be added to make it any better for the senses.

"So, what about a little bit of everything then?" thought Charlie out loud, his mind remembering why he had originally insisted on making the pit stop. "That should make everyone happy, Simeon?"

Simeon didn't answer. Glancing behind himself to where his Bulgarian friend had been standing only a moment ago, Simeon had vanished from sight.

"Simeon?" Charlie called out again, looking out the window into the empty street for him.

"He's right here," Mr Flume called from across the shop. 

Walking towards the counter, Charlie saw Simeon standing in front of a display of chilly Ice Mice with another piece of chocolate in his hand. Madame Flume beamed as Simeon took a bite out of her complimentary chocolate, her eyes glowing with pride.

"So glad you like it, dear boy," said Madame Flume, clasping her hands together happily. "Always nice to see a satisfied young lad such as yourself." 

"I guess we'll have a bit of everything plus extra chocolate then," Charlie smirked, not able to contain his laughter.

- - -

It was a quick broom flight back to the dark forest clearing on Hogwarts grounds, where the changing of dragon watch shift was just occurring, some of the weary morning workers finding their way into their tents while the afternoon people emerged with coffee in hand, ready for a few hours of work before their evening counterparts would take over. Diving into their designated tent, Simeon and Charlie were greeted with the smell of grilled sandwiches being made on the tiny kitchen stove.

"Hey," Zuberi Roberts said, flipping a few ham and cheese sandwiches over in the frying pan. "Did you get those Butterbeers?"

Charlie nodded, dropping a case of bottles filled with warm refreshing liquid onto the kitchen table along with the many parcels filled with sweets he had been carrying. Removing a few Butterbeers from the crate, he passed them around to the other seven thirsty people in the room, using the ledge of the table to crack open the lids for everyone as they dove into the packages.

"It's not bad," critically commented Valerie as she took a small sip from her bottle, "but you haven't had a good drink until you've tried Goblingin. Now, that is fantastic stuff, but I don't think it's distributed outside of Poland."

"Nasty," Constantine spit out a grey-coloured Bertie Botts bean into his hand. "It tastes like cat hair."

"Oh, well look at that!" Zuberi pointed towards Mikhail who was floating a few inches above the floor while sucking on a bright yellow Fizzing Whizzbee.

"Oh, Charlie, someone came looking for you earlier," Constantine spoke up, after drinking deeply from his bottle of Butterbeer to wash the foul taste from his mouth. He took a seat at the table and pulled a square of shimmering coconut ice from one of the boxes as he spoke, "The same big guy you met last night. Haggerit?"

"Oh, Hagrid," Charlie exclaimed, handing the last person a drink. "Was he trying to get another look at the dragons?"

"That," nodded Zuberi with a chortle, dropping a plate of sandwiches on the table before making a move towards the chocolate truffles, "but he had something for you too. It's on your bed."

"Thanks." Charlie walked past the small crowded living room space, where Mikhail had been joined in the air by Colin, and into the bedroom, which consisted of four sets of bunk beds. Looking towards his own bottom bunk, he saw a small green box with a messy chicken scrawl print that could only be Hagrid's handwriting. Untying the string and lifting the lid of the box, Charlie's brown eyes peered inside, meeting with dozens of little round burnt rock cakes.

"Perfect," Charlie exclaimed excitedly, grabbing the box and heading for the tent's exit again. "See you all later."

"Vhere are you going?" Mikhail asked, looking to Charlie from where he floated in the air.

"Black Lake."

- - -

The water of the lake rippled as the flat round cakes hopped across it, jumping across the surface. Once one fell into the depths of the dark lake in the shadow of the tall and skeletal Durmstrang ship, Charlie would grab another flat rock cake from the box, and continue to attempt beating his old record of eight skips before sinking. He had made it close, reaching the record a few times, but none had reached nine.

Tentacles from the giant squid beneath the water surfaced, the unearthly large creature seeming to be stretching out its many arms making Charlie halt his rock skipping in the desire to not hurt the school squid. Taking a seat in the grass as he waited, he looked along the shore of the lake to an old willow a few metres away.

Charlie remembered many an afternoon after tea with Hagrid, where he had saved many of the flat rock cakes, just standing on the shore skipping rocks while a group of his friends, of which Abby was always amongst, would sit under the willow recapping Quidditch matches. There had been many occasions when it was only Abby who stayed with him while he practiced his skip, usually to remind him of the time so Filch or Snape wouldn't catch them having fun. Many memories harboured themselves at the shore that Charlie had never really thought about before, but in an instant, he could clearly see his old school friends laughing beneath the willow.

"Charlie!" a voice cut through the air, interrupting his reminiscence.

Out of the dark forest with his wand held at the ready, Simeon emerged from the underbrush, clearing the fallen leaves from his pants. Walking along the grass up to the shore of the lake, he glanced towards the Durmstrang ship. His eyes only spent a total of a second looking at the ship, before they quickly turned to face Charlie as if to divert their gaze away from the ghostly boat.

"Ve have evening shift soon," reminded Simeon, tapping his watch.

"Okay," Charlie nodded, tossing a flat rock cake into Simeon's hands as the tentacles of the giant squid sunk back into the depths of the lake.

"You have been skipping rocks this whole time?" Simeon asked, brushing some of his bangs aside as he watched Charlie make a few last attempts to beat his record of eight skips.

"And reminiscing," replied Charlie, counting only seven hops on the surface before the rock cake vanished into the water. "I had a lot of good times here at the lake. It's nice to be back." 

Grabbing one of the last flat rock cakes in the box, the rest being lumpy and uneven, Charlie took one last attempt at breaking his record. Slowly drawing his arm back and bringing up a smooth release, the rock hopped across the water, bouncing foot by foot across the water, reaching the shadow of the Durmstrang ship in seven skips.

"Come on!" Charlie hoped, his hands diving into his mess of red hair as the rock cake glided back onto the water for an eighth.

With a last splash, the rock cake sunk on the eighth skip along with Charlie's hope of breaking his record that day. Sighing heavily, his breath becoming a mist in front of his face, Charlie picked up the box of remaining lumpy rock cakes, ready to admit defeat for the day while trying to think of ideas on how to use the remainder of Hagrid's gift.

Simeon stood silently in the light of the late afternoon sun, staring at the wrecked ship from the Eastern European school and the few large shaggy shadows that passed through the portholes. His eyes narrowed on the red and black flag flying from the tallest black mast. Tossing the rock cake in his hand from left to right, he was deeply immersed in thoughts that Charlie could only guess were running through his best friend's head.

"So, evening shift," Charlie tried to change the subject.

Drawing back his arm just as Charlie had only a moment ago, Simeon let the rock cake flying from his hand. It sailed across the lake, hopping quickly towards the ship. How far the rock cake could have gone, Charlie didn't know. Before it could sink into the water, it had bounced nine times on the surface and hit the Durmstrang ship.

"Let's go then," Simeon shrugged, turning back towards the dark forest and walking past a very confused Charlie as he began to trek back to where the dragons were being held.

"Don't ask," Charlie told himself quietly, walking behind with his almost empty box of useless rock cakes. "Don't even ask. That's just Simeon being Simeon."

- - -

Darkness had blanketed the reserve for hours, night having taken over the light as Bella sat awake at her desk placing wax seals on letters she had written that evening. Neatly piling the letters on the table for mailing by owl the next day, she glanced at the clock curiously, and then looked to the door. She partly expected to see Abby walking in, but her roommate had still not returned from the infirmary despite the late hour.

Getting up from her desk, Bella grabbed her magnolia wand, waving it at a hairbrush. Springing to life, the normally inanimate object floated behind her, combing out her waves of hair and braiding it into two plaits on the sides of her head as she walked towards her closet. Removing her warm rose-coloured bathrobe and placing it back neatly into the storage area she was ready for a long night of undisturbed sleep. Just as she glanced at the reflection of herself in the mirror while her brush floated back to its regular spot on her desk, the closet door shook mightily as it collided with the door leading into the room and made Bella jump a foot back.

"Bella?" Abby's voice came from behind the stuck door.

"Oh, Abby," gasped Bella, quickly closing the closet door so her roommate could enter without problems. "You're really late tonight."

"Yeah," sighed Abby as she exhaustedly staggered into the room, quickly taking off her thick black jacket, toque and mittens. "Fritz and Jeff got into a wizard's duel just after dinner, and we had a little situation as a result. I had to completely realign Jeff's spine, vertebrae by vertebrae."

"Merlin!" Bella's hands immediately covered her mouth in the shock of the news.

"He'll be fine," Abby reassured casually, throwing her outerwear into the closet and releasing her hair from the loose bun it had been in. "His spine is intact. I gave him a sleeping draught, and by tomorrow morning, he'll be walking perfectly straight again."

"That's good," sighed Bella, letting her hands down from her face as she sat down on her pink comforter and crossed her legs. "Oh, a package came while you were gone. And I hope you don't mind, but I read your newspaper, The Healer Herald."

"No problem," Abby nodded, sitting down at her own desk to observe a fat brown envelope all the way from Brighton, England sitting there.

"I find Seth Johansson, the travelling researcher, is excellent," Bella rambled onwards about the article she had read in the paper while Abby ripped open her mail. "He writes very well. Such an interesting choice of profession: travel research. He makes it all sound so fascinating. It must be wonderful to travel around in pursuit of knowledge..."

"Finally, mum found them!" Abby exclaimed excitedly, interrupting Bella's thoughts.

"Found what?" Bella asked, abandoning her ramblings.

Abby looked up over her shoulder to Bella with a large grin plastered between her cheeks. She realised she had been rude to interrupt in the middle of her roommate's sentence, but the excitement of her mail was too much to contain. "Our old pictures! I asked her to send me some to keep me company while I'm not at home! She couldn't find them before I left, but here they are!"

"Oh, let's see!" Bella's face beamed at the small stack of photographs in Abby's hand, applauding with glee.

The smile from Abby's face suddenly vanished as she stood from her seat, finding herself face to face with Bella's wall of hundreds of pictures. Holding her small pile of no more than two-dozen photographs, Abby felt her face get warm in embarrassment as Bella waited anxiously. Looking from the wall to her friend, Abby found herself near a loss for words.

"I have no where near what's on your wall," she tried to explain the small number of pictures in her hand, flushing a light shade of red to match her faded sweater. "My mum didn't really have access to a camera all the time, and we never had time for pictures and..."

"Show me anyway," Bella insisted, easing her way from her bed to the floor. "I don't care how many you've got, I just want to see them."

Hesitantly sinking onto the floor with crossed legs and sitting next to her roommate in the middle of the carpet, Abby placed the pictures in her lap, and took a deep breath. Picking up the first photograph from the top of the pile, she quickly gave it a scan, and passed into Bella's waiting hands. "That's my mum and me, just after I was born."

"Oh," sighed Bella sweetly, looking at the tired looking dark-haired woman as she cradled a newborn baby in a pink hat and white blanket with the help of a man in green-coloured scrubs. "Is this your father?"

"No, that's the doctor," Abby corrected her with a nod.

Bella nodded along with her in understanding before abruptly asking, "Where was your dad?" 

"I don't have a father," answered Abby without a second thought, as if she had anticipated Bella would ask her that question while she tucked a strand of her light brunette hair behind her ear.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Bella apologized immediately as her hand touched Abby's shoulder, her cheeks taking their turn to flush red. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's all right, you didn't know," Abby shrugged off right away, shooting Bella a small reassuring smile. "I should have mentioned that before."

Silence fell between the two of them as Bella continued to gaze at the picture of her roommate as a baby, innocently lying in the arms of her mother and the doctor who brought her into the world. Curiosity began to rack at her head, and though it didn't feel like the time, she had to ask before she forgot to ask later.

"He died before I was born," Abby clarified just as Bella opened her mouth to speak, knowing that the question was coming. "My parents weren't exactly married or anything, and when my mum found out she was pregnant with me, he left. She found out he died shortly afterwards."

"So you never knew him?" Bella tried to confirm.

"Only of him," nodded Abby, solemnly lowering her head.

"That's so tragic," sighed Bella, handing the picture back to Abby as she held back sympathy tears. "I'm sorry, really."

"It's all right," Abby shook her head, picking up the next picture in the stack and handing it over to her roommate. "Maybe that's for the better. Mum didn't think he was a family type man."

With a small smile gracing her face, Bella looked down to the next picture, hoping she didn't bring up such sad tales in Abby's life. 

"This must be..." Bella paused, the name slipping from the tip of her tongue.

"Anna," completed Abby, smiling at the picture of her then-baby half sister being held at the hospital, surrounded by family members. "That's me, sitting next to mum, and that's Anna's father, Lyle."

"He's handsome," Bella stated in all honestly, looking at the tall man with dark curls of brown hair and piercing blue eyes.

"He's a nice man," added Abby, picking up another picture to show. "He's always been there for Anna. And for mum too, even though they aren't involved anymore."

"Oh, you played baseball?" exclaimed Bella, looking at the next picture of a young eight-year-old girl dressed in patched and frayed clothing with a mitt covering her right hand and an old looking brown ball being held high in her left.

"For a long time," Abby laughed. "I was a bit of a tomboy growing up."

"It would explain why you played Beater for Quidditch," Bella giggled along. "I was never a good flyer. I fell off my broom the first try and I never tried again."

"Shame," Abby shook her head, moving onto the next picture. "That's Charlie and me with the school groundskeeper, Hagrid. We were really close to him."

Moving about in the dimensions of the photo were much younger versions of Abby and Charlie, only about thirteen or fourteen years old sitting out on the steps in school robes outside a hut at the edge of a forest. In Charlie's lap was a small black boarhound pup with a blue collar around its neck. Filling out the door to the hut was a giant of a man, his face covered by a bushy black beard making him look like, in Bella's opinion, a pirate had it not been for his dirt-caked brown clothing.

"Wow, is he a giant?" Bella gasped at the bearded man.

"I'm not sure," Abby replied. "I never really thought to ask."

Abby took the picture back, taking a long look at Hagrid as she thought over Bella's question. Glancing over to the stack of pictures, Bella looked at the next photo in the pile while her friend was occupied. Snatching the next one in the pile, she gave it a scan. "Who is this? A friend."

Abby looked away from the magical picture to glimpse at a normal Muggle picture of a young man with blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, pearly teeth shining perfectly in his mouth as he smiled while sitting on a couch next to her twenty-year-old self, that Bella was holding before her. Her eyes widened at the very sight of the man and herself in the picture as all colour in her cheeks became white.

"My fiancé," she gasped, partly shocked at seeing the photo and partly furious with her mother for including it.

"You didn't say you were engaged!" Bella screeched happily, dropping the picture and wrapping her arms around Abby's neck. "Oh, that's so exciting!"

"Ex-fiancé," Abby corrected herself quietly, just audible enough by Bella.

"Oh," breathed Bella, quickly removing her embrace from Abby's neck as her roommate stood, grabbing the photograph away and walking over to her desk.

"We called off our engagement last year," Abby explained in a whisper of a voice, opening an empty drawer in her desk and dropping the picture in as she shut it magically with her oak wand. "We just weren't happy together."

Bella nodded, knowing it was best to not push anything farther in spite of her curiosity. Gathering the rest of the pictures up from the floor, she came alongside Abby, holding up the ones that had spurred happier memories in order to change the subject at hand. "We should stick these somewhere on your side of the room, and start your own wall of pictures. All you need are a few Sticking Charms."

A noise at the window diverted both of the women's attention from the pictures, drawing them to where a brown barn owl was pecking at the glass. Rushing to the window, Abby thrust it open, letting the bird fly into the room and land on Bella's desk, holding out its leg so she could untie the tiny parcel addressed to Abby Ridges attached to its leg.

"Sort of late for owls," commented Bella, leaving the pictures on Abby's desk.

Getting the last knot undone from the small package, Abby opened the small flap and turned it upside down and let a heavy ball of paper fall into her palm. The owl took leave, flying out the window for the owl rest station on the roof of the main building as Abby unravelled the paper. Once it was flat on Bella's desk, she could see why it had been so heavy. The letter from Charlie had been wrapped around a burnt black rock cake.

"What's that for?" asked Bella as Abby glimpsed over the letter that had been wrapped around Hagrid's signature piece of baking.

Trotting with the black rock cake over to her own desk again, Abby gathered the loose bits of parchment. Piling them on the desk, she dropped the rock cake on top of them with a chuckle.

"According to Charlie, it's a great paper weight."

**A/N:** Still not much I can comment. So...enjoy!


	14. Chapter Thirteen: The First Task

**johnsocz: **Thank you for your kind words. It was nice of you to review. Everything that needs saying about Abby to this point will be revealed in due time. I'm glad you like the story thus far. Thank you.

- - -

**Chapter Thirteen: The First Task**

Anxious whispers travelled along the corridors of Hogwarts on the morning of November the twenty-fourth, anticipating the first event of the Triwizard Tournament that afternoon. Rumours and bets circled around the classrooms while professors weren't looking, students gambling away their pocket money on whether or not Harry Potter would succeed in a tournament he was underage for. As the quiet hushed voices filled the hallways, it was the complete opposite in the clearing of the Forbidden Forest.

"Come on men! We need to get these dragons into place 'before' noon!" Valerie hollered over the crowds of dragon keepers as they attempted to lead partially subdued dragons into an order for the tournament. "Put your backs into it now!"

From a short distance away, Charlie glanced over his shoulder watching his team attempt to move the sedated Swedish Short-Snout to the front of the line-up so it could be the first. He felt guilty leaving Valerie in charge when he was supposed to be leading the effort, but at the same time, she was much more commanding to ensure the job was done correctly.

"Thank you for complying with our last minute request, Mr Weasley," Mr Crouch nodded gratefully as he handed a purple silk bag to Mr Bagman. "It really is better for the Hungarian Horntail to go last, bit of excitement at the end."

"Of course," agreed Charlie, only partially paying attention as he listened to the barks of Valerie nearby. "I don't feel sorry for anyone who has to go against her."

"Well, let's go then, Barty," Mr Bagman slapped his co-worker on the back. "Dumbledore is expecting us for a spot of lunch before the grand event. Best not keep him waiting."

Mr Bagman walked along with Mr Crouch, leaving the dragon's domain as he rambled on about odds against each of the champions as Charlie scrambled over to where his co-workers had just finished getting the dragons into their proper order. The dragon keepers filed out, cracking their stiff joints as they walked by.

"We're all done already, Charlie," announced Valerie, seeming proud that she had completed the job at hand. "We are scheduled to assemble in the dugouts surrounding the enclosure for the task to be at ready should any emergency occur."

"I'm aware," nodded Charlie, walking along after his tired friends.

It wasn't much longer before students would begin to arrive, so everyone had already begun to fill the dugout stands, wanting a good view from where they would be sitting. Searching the seats, it wasn't hard to find Simeon, as he was the only person not wearing some form of school colours, opting again for his signature colour.

"Vhy did they make a change?" Simeon grunted as Charlie took a seat next to him. "I thought ve already had the order set."

"They want the Horntail to go last," explained Charlie, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I suppose it ends everyone on a bang, seeing the most dangerous beast in the finale."

"I vould not like to be the last person then," Simeon shook his head. "This is a most dangerous task."

"Durmstrang will be up to the challenge though, won't they?" taunted Charlie with a crooked smile on his face.

"I have said it before," Simeon stated plainly, barely expressing an ounce of pride for his school on his face, "you cannot underestimate Durmstrang. They try hard and they vill give a hard fight."

"Are you willing to put some Galleons on that?" Charlie asked.

"Durmstrang's champion against your Boy-Who-Lived?" replied Simeon with an interested raised eyebrow.

"Exactly," confirmed Charlie, extending his hand to the bet. "Best performance and points receives ten Galleons, if you're feeling confident in the determination of Durmstrang."

Simeon paused, thinking to himself for a moment as his eyes hid behind his shaggy dark locks. Slowly, he brought his hand into Charlie's giving him a firm handshake as he muttered, "You're on."

- - -

In less than an hour, the stands surrounding the dragon's enclosure had filled with students from Beauxbatons, Hogwarts and Durmstrang, all sporting banners and school colours with dignity on their faces. Charlie watched as his own siblings: Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny head into the seats where the small number of Harry Potter supporters sat, Ron being the only one who didn't look very happy being there.

"Those must be your brothers and sister," Simeon pointed towards the Weasleys.

"Is it that obvious?" asked Charlie, staring at the twins as they rallied through the Gryffindor section to get a wave moving, as well as collect various bets from fellow students.

"The hair gives it avay," explained Simeon, leaning back in his seat with his arms folded over his chest.

"Slovensky?" a sharp voice came from just outside the dugout.

Charlie took his glance away from his family to see that right in front of Simeon was a wizard with silvery hair and fur robes to match. His chin was hidden behind a stubby goatee that curled at the end, and he held a long staff in front of him to rest both of his hands upon. Despite the fact Charlie had heard the man clearly, Simeon had put his eyes to the ground, as if he hadn't heard the man say anything.

"Simeon Slovensky?" the wizard spoke again, bending forward to grab Simeon's attention.

With a nudge in the upper arm from Charlie, Simeon looked up at the older wizard reluctantly, not meeting his eyes as he stood in the dugout with his hands in his jacket pockets. "Hello Headmaster Karkaroff, sir."

"I have not seen you for a long time, since you graduated from Durmstrang," Karkaroff smiled, showing off his yellowed teeth as he bent lower to look at his old student. "How are you?"

"Fine," answered Simeon curtly.

"How have you been handling since the..." Karkaroff paused to look over his shoulder for anyone who may have been listening before he continued in a hushed voice, "tragic events?"

"Fine," Simeon repeated the same answer.

"I was sad to hear about it, truly," said Karkaroff, bowing his head as if in sincere sympathy for whatever he spoke of.

Charlie's eyebrows rose to the point of exploding off of his forehead. He stared at the unenthusiastic face of a friend he had thought he'd known for years, discovering there may have been more to Simeon than eyes first met.

"Thank you," grunted Simeon, though the tone in his voice indicated he didn't mean a single word of it.

"Igor, our seats await," Albus Dumbledore called from across the field, gesturing for Karkaroff to follow the rest of the judges and take his place at one of the raised seats draped in golden cloth.

Karkaroff nodded towards Hogwarts' Headmaster before turning to Simeon again. "Take care, Slovensky."

Durmstrang's Headmaster stalked off as Simeon fell into his seat again, crossing his arms again with a heavy sigh that rustled his bangs. Charlie diverted his eyes away from his best friend, remembering the advice Simeon himself had given him.

"_Vhen she is ready to talk about it, she vill let you know. Give it time._"

Simeon's words on Abby rang true for that given moment in time, making Charlie shut his lips on his curiosity. Instead, his mind raced to find something else to talk about, which the blow of a whistle and the thunderous cheering of the crowd quickly absolved him of.

As Mr Bagman rushed across the stands towards his place at the judge's seats, it was the sign that the tournament's task was about to start, causing an uproar of excitement in the audience. On one end of the enclosure, the Swedish Short-Snout had been settled to guard her precious eggs as well as the golden egg placed by the dragon keepers earlier on in the week. The champions' tent on the other end remained shut, one of the four to be emerging at any second to be one-third closer to the eternal glory they sought.

"Merlin, I hope Harry goes first," Charlie muttered, watching the tent flap in hope of seeing the green-eyed Gryffindor.

"No doubt, the Short-Snout has fewer killings to the name," nodded Simeon. 

But Harry was not the one to come from the tent, but it was rather a young man with grey-eyes and skin with a tinge of green donning the colours of Hufflepuff. Charlie knew immediately it had to be none other than Cedric Diggory as all of the students waving yellow and black badger banners screamed and cheered along as background to the hollering of Shane Kennedy.

Hunching over, Cedric looked as though he would be sick right there and then, but much to surprise he withdrew his wand and muttered something beneath his breath that none could hear. A hush spread across the crowd as a rock from the ground began to swell and grow, producing a head, four appendages, and a tail. It continued to grow until it stood at his waist when the transfigured rock quietly awaited a command.

"Nice piece of transfiguration," commented Zuberi from nearby, stroking his chin in interest at the tactic.

The transfigured black Labrador dog pounced immediately, heading straight for the nest of eggs by the dragon before making a complete u-turn, getting the dragon to follow it as Cedric inched a bit closer to the prize. The Swedish Short-Snout was not too quick to leave her nest, remaining very close to her unborn young. With a wave of his wand, Cedric made the dog run for nest again and swerve away even farther away, which drew the dragon a bit farther away. Time after time, over what seemed like hours as the crowd watched on anxiously, the first champion persisted at using the black Labrador to distract the dragon away as he came closer to the golden egg, very risky business in accordance with the commentary of Mr Bagman.

At long last, Cedric had gotten close enough to the nest, the dragon having gone far enough for him to sneak up to the eggs. The stands held their breath as he made his way along only a moment away from completing the first task. All eyes seemed to be breathing down Cedric's neck.

"Look!" Simeon hit Charlie in the shoulder, and pointed to the Short-Snout.

Charlie's eyes went to the dragon, who had just seemed to realise she had left her eggs unprotected for too long. Turning her long silvery blue neck away from the barking Labrador, they focused on Cedric as he closed in around her nest. The expression that crossed Cedric's face could only be described as complete horror.

"By Merlin!" Charlie gasped, watching as the Short-Snout inhaled deeply, ready to sprout out the famous flames that could turn bone to ash. "Wands at the ready!"

The dragon keepers all took their wands and stood, ready to counter-attack in the instant something were to happen. With less than a second to think, Cedric burst into a run towards the golden egg, hoping he could outrun the dragon's blazing breath.

Just as was expected, bright blue fire emitted from the mouth of the dragon, swirling towards Cedric, who got a slight hit on one side of his face and shoulder as he made a run for the egg. The crowd gasped at the development, the champion needing to cover half of his face as he continued running until he'd snatched the egg from the nest.

"NOW!" Charlie bellowed, everyone in the dugouts casting Stunning Spells towards the Short-Snout.

The dragon almost instantly fell to the ground, her mouth emitting a wave of flames over the eggs, keeping them warm, before she became unconscious. The crowd had begun to roar in triumph for the capture made by Cedric while the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, had rushed onto the scene to inspect the damage of his burns.

The keepers from the dragon's end of the enclosure made quick work of removing the Swedish Short-Snout and replacing it with the Common Welsh Green dragon for the next champion. Madam Pomfrey had begun to apply a thick orange paste that Charlie had seen before many times as the judges from the raised seats held up their marks for the crowd to see, producing even harder applause as Cedric was taken away from the enclosure and into a waiting medical tent like a war hero.

The whistle sounded again, calling the next champion from the tent. The flap of the tent moved aside to reveal a trembling young lady with silvery blonde hair and wand in hand. As a round of cheering in French resounded in the air, Charlie noted she could only be the sole female competitor, Beauxbatons' Fleur Delacour.

"By Merlin, what a ravishingly gorgeous creature," Charlie heard a few of the men muttering and smiling in the presence of lovely champion.

Fleur got to work immediately just as Cedric had, waving her wand in the air above her head in a fluid water-like motion. Silvery sparks sprung from the tip producing a soft melodic tune. She moved a bit closer to the Welsh Green, who didn't seem to be too interested in attacking the approaching intruder. The sparks continued to appear, sending the dragon slowly into light trance.

Charlie could feel his own eyes start to droop with the lulling melody filling his ears, all his limbs becoming as limp as spaghetti noodles. His body became so relaxed that he was quite prepared to take a nap right in the dugout had he not bumped his head onto Simeon's bony shoulder.

The young Beauxbatons champion continued to walk forward, the dragon becoming so sleepy that it's head hung limp and began to rest low on the ground, completely forgetting about the brown and green-speckled eggs. As she pressed on, the Welsh Green put her head into her arms, and groaned sleepily as she closed her round yellow eyes. With a confident look on her lips, she lowered her wand and gracefully walked past the dragon's head, waving cheerfully at her fellow classmates as they began to applaud loudly.

A resounding snore came from the dragon, followed by a stream of fire from its inflamed nostrils. With the hem of her skirt in the way, the audience gasped as Fleur looked over her shoulder to see her clothing ablaze. Quickly taking out her wand again, a simple water conjuring charm put out the flame, though the males in the audience seemed more than willing to help as many got ready to jump right out of the dugout at the sight of the pretty champion in danger.

Calmly, Fleur continued her short walk to the dragon's nest, picking up the golden egg without further complications as she blew sweet kisses into the crowd awaiting her judgement. The French school and all the men burst into a thunderous applause as a few keepers made the quick switch from the sleepy Welsh Green to the fierce Chinese Fireball.

"Much better than that Diggory," stated Simeon, looking at the judge's scoring. "Thirty-eight verses thirty-nine points."

"And two more to go," Charlie sighed, hoping that he would see Harry next.

The blast of the whistle brought forth the worst of Charlie's fears. Dressed in the red and black Durmstrang robes with a sour expression on his face, the Bulgarian seeker Charlie remembered from the Quidditch World Cup appeared from the tent. It could only mean that Harry was going to face the Hungarian Horntail last.

"Oh Merlin," groaned Charlie, burying his head in his hands in worry for the youngest champion, not watching as the Durmstrang champion began the task at hand.

It was the painful howl of the Fireball that made Charlie look up at what was going on. The dragon had clearly been hit in the eye as it stumbled around blindly. As she screamed and shrieked in pure agony, Krum smartly got himself out of harm's way, waiting for the dragon to stop trampling near the eggs. 

Without knowing, the dragon had stamped right onto the nest, much to Charlie's shock. The few red and gold eggs beneath her feet splattered in a single step, the yolks squishing out from the nest before the Fireball stumbled out of the nesting area. Taking the opportunity, Krum ran up to the nest and took hold of the only egg he sought.

"Such a loss," Charlie sighed, bowing his head solemnly as keepers rushed forward to help the Fireball and clean up the broken eggs as others went to fetch the final dragon.

"Nothing ve could help." Simeon patted Charlie's back, shaking his own head in shame and sorrow for the lost lives that would never be.

"I suppose I should be worrying about Harry," said Charlie, listening as the final whistle echoed through the air and the famous Boy-Who-Lived appeared in the enclosure staring at the most dangerous dragon at the other end. "Merlin, help him."

"_Accio Firebolt_," Harry shot a spell into the air rather than towards the dragon. 

Stillness blanketed the stands, everyone holding their breath for the youngest champion. What felt like hours passed before a broomstick hurled out of the air and flew into the enclosure and to Harry's side, ready to be mounted and flown.

"He's going to fly," Constantine stated obviously as Hogwarts' other champion took off into the air.

"Good thing too," breathed Charlie in relief. "He's a good little flier."

Going into dives, pulling out, and soaring high into the air in an attempt to divert the dragon's attention and draw her away from her eggs, it was clear that Charlie's statement was true. The Boy-Who-Lived dazzled the rest of the dragon keepers and those doubtful in the crowd, proving if anything that he deserved to be one of the four champions.

Dodging through the flames, Harry failed to notice the backend of the Horntail and was hit in the shoulder, leaving him with a torn bloody robe. The crowd gaped in shock, but the young champion continued to fly through the air despite the minor injury. He soared high above the enclosure, getting as much height as he could, tempting the Horntail to follow him into the open sky. When she finally succumbed to her urge, he dove for the golden egg and seized it in his good arm.

"Incredible!" cried out Julian, applauding the boy's efforts. "Absolutement incroyable."

Harry landed onto the ground, immediately being swept up by teachers who hauled him off to Madam Pomfrey while the keepers sprung into action subduing the Horntail. Those in the dugouts filed out, hoping into the enclosure to aid their co-workers.

"It vas amazing," Simeon shook his head in disbelief.

"That boy is an excellent flier," commented Zuberi before he rushed forward to use a Stunning Spell on the Horntail.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Quidditch teams tried to snatch him up now, before some other team gets him first," added Constantine as he ran along behind Zuberi. "He could give Krum a good run for his money, that's for sure."

Simeon and Charlie went to the eggs, carefully placing the delicate young unhatched dragons in the Ministry's heated crates for storing until the Horntail awoke. One by one, they were gently stacked and kept insanely hot as the lid shut on the eggs and cast them into dark warmth.

"I guess I owe you ten Galleons," moaned Simeon. "He vill get top score, no doubt."

"Don't be so sure," Charlie looked over the judges, who had begun to show their marks in the air above.

Taking a quick tally of the scores by the judges, Harry had received a total of forty, the exact number that Krum had received from his judgement. Fleur and Cedric had come behind, so the final two champions had tied in first place much to the surprise of everyone watching the scores go up, except for Harry who seemed content with just standing next to Ron and Hermione.

"Looks like we'll be holding off our bet until the next task," laughed Charlie, running off to congratulate the youngest champion on his victory.

**A/N:** Anyone super-curious about Simeon Slovensky? I had to ask.

The only translation to make is _absolument incroyable_ in French, meaning "absolutely incredible" in English.

Of course, this chapter is almost directly out of the fourth book, and taken into account the other three champions, and through the eyes of Charlie. But yeah, direct canon references.

Hope I'm still grasping your attention spans.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Romanian Holiday

**nativewildmage:** Thank you for your enthusiastic reply. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Charlie's character certainly is interesting. Thank you for your kindness.

**johnsocz:** Nice to hear from you again, as I am aware it is not your norm. Thank you for reviewing. You have some interesting insight into Simeon Slovensky, and I thank you for allowing me to see it. I'm always interested in what others predict over the fate of this story. Thank you.

**RubeusHagrid34:** Thank you for your reply. It is very nice to know you like this story.

**Anyone else reading, but not responding:** Thank you for reading! I hope you are liking this!

- - -

**Chapter Fourteen: Romanian Holiday**

"Happy Birthday Charlie!"

A set of silver goblets filled with elf-made wine clanked together at a small table at the end of the mess hall as the four people sitting down to drinks toasted the birthday boy. The small group all drank from their goblets, sighing contently as they brought the cups away from their lips and sank into the cushioned chairs.

"I can't believe it's almost winter vacation," Bella shook her head, looking outside at the darkened December evening.

"I can't either," concurred Charlie with a sigh, pulling a loose thread from his yellow sweater. "I think I spent so much time on planning for the Triwizard Tournament that I really didn't sense it coming this year."

"Are you staying here for the holidays again?" asked Bella.

"I have to," he replied. "Not enough Galleons to fly home this year, and most of the brothers are staying at school anyway, something about a Christmas Ball, Triwizard Tournament tradition thing."

Abby nodded sympathetically, running her index finger along the rim of her goblet. "Mum said it wasn't worthwhile to waste money on coming home. Anna is going with her father's family to Aberdeen so mum volunteered to work, and it just wasn't going to be a full family affair."

"At least there is little vork to be done," justified Simeon taking another gulp out of his goblet. "The dragons are beginning to enter hibernating stage."

"True," agreed Charlie. "Not like we don't get a vacation at all what with all that spare time. And I've gotten used to seeing Herb dress up as Father Christmas."

"Yes, but it's not really a holiday for me without family," argued Bella. "I miss Mama and Papa so much, and I can't wait to see them and all my aunts and uncles and cousins over the holidays. We always have such fun, laughing and sharing stories over a really big turkey or ham."

Bella sighed blissfully at the thought, her eyes glazing over as if she were bewitched with the thoughts of her impending holiday only a few short sleeps away. Abby's hand waving in front of her happy face didn't even make her flinch in the slightest.

"Simeon, you always stay for the winter vacation," Bella finally came out of her trance and commented bluntly as her eyes directed themselves at Simeon. "Don't you ever want to see your..."

"Bella, could I have a private word?" Charlie interrupted abruptly before she could finish her sentence. "Now?"

Sensing the urgency in his voice, Bella rose from her chair immediately, brushing past Abby as Charlie led her to the other side of the mess hall. They quickly bypassed their co-workers whom all seemed to be immersed in deep conversations of their own, mostly circulating around Harry Potter and the Hungarian Horntail. Even though over two weeks had passed since the event, there seemed to be little else to discuss on the reserve as those who had stayed behind and listened to commentary on the wireless wanted explicit details from anyone who had gone.

Pulling Bella into a corner by the utensil trays, Charlie looked around and made sure no one was listening. Peering past the crowd, he stared back at the table across the room, assuring that Simeon and Abby weren't looking their way.

"Is something wrong?" Bella asked hesitantly, the slightest tone of concern lacing her words.

"No," Charlie shook his head. "I should have said something sooner, but I think you should know something about Simeon."

Charlie proceeded, telling Bella about the conversation he'd overheard between Simeon and Durmstrang's Headmaster, trying to recap the entire scene word for word as best he could. He watched as Bella's hazel eyes widened with new information concerning a man both had called a friend for years. Becoming a bit pale as Charlie spoke, Bella leaned against the wall, holding her forehead in one hand and her stomach in the other as if she was about to be sick.

"I can't imagine what that unfortunate incident could be," she breathed, trembling in shock, "but it does explain why he doesn't talk about his family or past. It implies he's all by his lonesome. Oh, it sounds dreadful, to be without family. Maybe that's why he wears black, for mourning. And here I am asking him about it all the time, and helping him buy presents for them when he didn't ask. Oh dear, it must be painful for him."

"I thought you should know," whispered Charlie as a few researchers walked by. "It's probably best we stop asking about it so much, and wait for him to tell us."

"Yes, I'll try hard to remember that," nodded Bella, biting down on one of her fingernails, "right along with remembering not to bring up that ex-fiancé of Abby's."

Charlie looked at Bella curiously. "You know about Darren Barton?"

"Is that his name?" enquired Bella, thinking about it for a moment. "I don't think she told me a name. She only mentioned it while the lot of you had gone to Hogwarts."

"What do you know about him?" asked Charlie, his voice getting anxious.

"Not a lot," replied Bella with a sigh, pulling the sleeves of her baby blue sweater down to cover her arms more. "She didn't seem to be willing to discuss too much. She just mentioned that they called off their engagement because they just weren't happy together before she put his picture away."

"You saw a picture?"

"Yes," answered Bella. "I don't remember what he looked like exactly, but he was a handsome man. Her mother sent it with other pictures, but Abby wasn't too happy about that one, naturally."

Glancing over Charlie's shoulder, Bella caught a glimpse of Simeon staring at the back of Charlie's head with a curious expression in his eyes. "I think we've kept Abby and Simeon waiting a while. We should go back to the table before they get worried."

Turning back towards the massive crowds of people at tables, Charlie nodded to Bella. "Yeah. Come on."

Leading the way, Charlie began to walk back to the tables with Bella following nervously behind him. Seeing that they were headed back, he noted that Simeon had purposely diverted his gaze to the window, as he drank from his goblet.

"Thank you for telling me about...everything," said Bella graciously, putting her hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"Likewise," Charlie smiled weakly as they rejoined his birthday celebration.

- - -

The entrance corridor to the reserve became very crowded only a few short days later, everyone going there to bid their goodbyes to their second family before they went to visit their first. Vast numbers of people were leaving in trains, planes, buses, brooms and Portkeys almost every few hours, making for many goodbyes to be said between the dormitories and the doors to the buses leading them away. As happy as many were to be going home for the holidays, it was also hard to suddenly be separated from the people they had been with for over three months.

"Who's gone already?" Abby asked as Charlie, Simeon, and her sat down in the comfortable purple armchairs watching acquaintances head out. "So many people have gone home, I can't keep track."

"Constantine left for Sparta yesterday," muttered Charlie, counting on his fingers. "Zuberi's gone back to his village in Tanzania. Sebastian took a train to Germany. And...that's all I can remember."

"The Americans left two days ago," added Simeon, resting his head on a pillow. "Too bad Valerie did not go vith them."

"I'm beginning to think you don't like Valerie Walters all too much," chuckled Charlie shaking his head.

"Vhatever gave you that idea?" Simeon rolled his eyes, causing Abby to muffle her smirk as some dragon keepers went by.

Walking out of a corridor alongside a few members of the research team, Bella entered the entrance hall carrying her valise, bags of brightly wrapped gifts, and train ticket to Florence. Laughing along heartily with a dragon keeper and a researcher, siblings Gustavo and Lupe Garcia, she stopped in her place having seen her roommate and friends sitting nearby. Smiling she put down all her luggage as Abby, Simeon and Charlie stood in front of her.

"I'll see you all in the new year," said Bella, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Have a good holiday, everyone."

"Have a safe trip," wished Charlie as Bella wrapped her arms around his waist in a fast tight hug.

"Happy Christmas," Abby added, receiving her embrace right after Charlie.

Coming up to the last member of their little group, Bella took Simeon into her arms warmly, giving him a tight squeeze. In surprise, Simeon couldn't bring himself to put his hands on the petite researcher, which Bella noted almost right away. She quickly pulled away, sensing the awkwardness over her automatic action. For a mere second that felt like forever, they could only nervously stand a few feet apart without saying anything.

"Well, goodbye," Bella smiled brightly breaking the silence as if the weird moment with Simeon hadn't happened. She picked up her things and walked backwards out the door towards a waiting car to take her to the train station. "Happy Christmas."

Following Gustavo and Lupe out of the reserve's main building, she vanished from sight at the closing of the door.

- - -

It had begun to snow around the mountainous reserve only a few days after Bella had gone home and owled her safe arrival. The regularly brown and green ground had become blanketed in a thin layer pure white frozen rain in a very generous dumping. The whiteness had been welcomed heartily by those spending their vacation in Romania, helping those remaining get into a more winter spirit. To add to the atmosphere, Herb and Nisha had taken the time to decorate the entire lounge for all winter holidays, from the solstice to Christmas to Hanukkah to Kwanzaa, overnight to everyone's surprise. As nearly everyone had more free hours with the dragons sleeping for days at a time, the lounge became the busiest place in the reserve, next to the mess hall where Nisha had taken to preparing steaming mugs of hot chocolate all day long.

"King me," declared Simeon, moving one of his black pieces to Charlie's side of the board as they occupied themselves with charmed checkers in the lounge.

"And be quick about it, peasant boy," barked the black game pawn, hopping madly on the board for the opponent to crown it, only silencing when Charlie pointed his wand at it and gave it a small golden headdress.

"Did you want to play the winner, Abby?" Charlie called nearby to his friend as she sat curled up on the couch behind him reading a copy of The Healer Herald. "Looks like Simeon's already won this one."

"Sure," she replied, folding her newspaper back up as she swung her legs onto the floor to stand. "It's like regular checkers, right?"

"Pretty much," answered Charlie, making his move with little strategy in expectation that Simeon would win anyway, his black pawns already far outnumbering his red ones. "Only your pawns might yell at you a little bit."

Abby nodded, tucking The Healer Herald beneath her arm and watching as Simeon captured two more of Charlie's red game pieces and proclaimed another one of his own ready to ascend the throne. Before Charlie could use his maple wand to shut the black pawn up, the loud bang of someone coming through the door took his attention, as well as everyone else's interest, away from the shouting game pieces.

"Afternoon all," Herb greeted warmly, spreading out his arms as if to show off his green Rudolph jumper.

"Hello Herb," the lounge chanted in unison before returning to their individual recreation activities.

"Just look at you all, sitting around indoors when it's so lovely outside," complained Herb, strutting through the room with his hands on his waist as if he were a father talking to his many teenaged children. "You should all go out and get some well-needed fresh air."

"We've all been outside today," commented a Canadian, Justin Arbor, from his place in front of the television as he watched a particularly vicious match of hockey with a few others. "We've all had a dose of air."

"Well I think it's time we all went out and did something together," stated Herb flinging his wand in the direction of the television and shutting it off, getting a loud round of groans in return. "Come on all of you, off your duffs. It's the holidays, time for fun and family. Everyone get your coats and hats. We're going ice skating."

"Where?" piped Ryan Donaldson, rising from where he had parked his rear in front of the television.

"Wherever I decide to conjure up some ice," Herb answered as if it were the most obvious answer in the entire world. "Come on you lot! There's a round of hot chocolate, marshmallows, and chocolate chip cookies for you afterwards."

"Can't argue vith that," Simeon shrugged casually, stretching his long limbs and cracking his joints as he stood up.

"Good boy, Simeon, that's the spirit," shouted Herb, trotting over and giving the Bulgarian a hard pat on the back. "Someone go wrench Tamara from her research in the archives. Everyone's got to come, no excuses."

Shuffling out from the warm lounge and collecting their coats, hats, scarves, mittens and any other warmer wear, everyone made their way outside to the veranda. Much to their surprise, Herb had already completed his spell to set up a small open rink in front of the main building that was normally a dirt road. On the sidelines of the ice patch, their boss was using his wand to transfigure his wife's boots into skates before taking her hand and gliding with her across the slippery surface.

"Come along everyone," he waved to the lot from where he was. "The ice is fine."

The group made their way to the edge of the ice, everyone using their wands to transfigure their shoes and boots into ice skates much like Herb had done for Nisha. A few hesitated to move onto the ice, clearly having never skated in their lives before, while others soared onto the frozen surface with ease and comfort.

"Charlie," Simeon whispered, nudging his friend as he looked curiously at his ice skates, "how do you use these?"

"I'm not sure," shrugged Charlie as he pulled his gloves tight and zipped his jacket. "Just...copy someone who knows what they're doing."

Swallowing whatever inhibitions were left in him, Charlie put one foot on the ice, slowly stepping onto the frozen water and pushing himself forward a little. He moved only a metre in length before the glide had lost momentum, leaving him stagnant. Not knowing how to glide any farther, he could only wait as Simeon slid up next to him.

"Come on," Abby called, gliding past them gracefully. "You've got to slide your feet. It's like walking."

With an understanding nod, Charlie looked down at his own feet, picking up one and placing it an inch in front of the other. He tried again, and again, making baby steps across the surface of the ice, much to the amusement of the experienced skaters and the interest of non-skaters.

"Keep trying, Charlie," Herb waved from where he coasted along with Nisha on his arm. "You'll get the hang of it."

"Me thinks it's time for a crash course," suggested Abby, making a circle around Simeon and Charlie before stopping right between them.

"You think so?" Charlie shook his head at his obvious need for a lesson.

"I know so," she replied, rolling her eyes derisively as she took his and Simeon's elbows into hers.

Dragging the two boys along with her, she glided elegantly across the ice as she quickly lectured about skating. "You've got to keep good balance, which shouldn't be a problem. You've both played Quidditch before. Just push off on one foot, and then the other."

Letting go of their arms abruptly, Simeon and Charlie wobbled slightly at their newfound freedom. Skidding on the ice, Charlie was losing force in his slide once again, but by pushing off from one foot, he was quick to see that it wasn't too difficult to do.

"Hey, this isn't too hard," he commented, continuing to propel himself as Abby applauded from where she stood. "Simeon, give it a shot!"

"I'll take Quidditch any day," stated Simeon bluntly, standing completely still on the frozen rink.

"You're doing great, Charlie," Abby shouted enthusiastically as Charlie pushed off again, slowly turning around back to her.

Gaining speed onto his skating Charlie looked as though he had been doing the sport his entire life. It came completely naturally to him. He swerved around Abby with a grand goofy smile, making her giggle heartily at his antics.

"Charlie! Stop!" yelled Simeon, making Charlie look up just before he collided with his friend.

The impact sent both of the boys into a slide across the rink, wobbling and teetering unsteadily as they went, using only each other's shoulders for support. Other skaters moved to get out of their way, not wanting to join them in their dangerous slide. Hitting the edge of the ice, Simeon and Charlie stopped only by toppling into the snowdrift, one beside the other.

"Are you okay?" Abby asked, rushing to the edge and stopping before she could join them in the snow.

"Next time, lesson one is stopping," groaned Simeon as he sat up in the snow, transfiguring his shoes to their normal state.

"Well, look at it this way," started Abby as she reached for Charlie's gloved hands and pulled him out of the drift covered in fluffy white frozen rain, "that was the crash part of the crash course."

Abby laughed loudly at her little joke as Charlie brushed the melting snow from his hair and jacket. Staring at his friend with an evil grin, his hands snatched a large fistful of the cold wet substance, and packed it tightly to a ball. Holding it in his palm for only a second, he took careful aim before it met with the back of Abby's neck and left her with a freezing sensation running down her spine.

"Why you..." she began, not bothering to finish as Charlie made quick work of transfiguring his boots back and scampering away. With a flick of her wand, Abby's footwear lost their blades as she went after him with a fresh snowball in her hand, accelerating to make up for the few lost seconds.

Glancing over his shoulder, Charlie noted Abby had picked up her speed as she ran after him. Stopping in his place and ready to fight her off, he bent over for more snow, hurling another snowball in hope it would make impact to the moving target. As soon as the snow left his hand, Abby leapt into the air and tackled Charlie's legs, pinning him to the frozen ground with a quick petrifying spell. With the snowball still in her hand, she wasted no time by crawling alongside his body up to his face, shoving the solid water down his shirt, and placing her warm hand on top of his chest to assure it melted faster.

"Could you be any more cruel than this?" Charlie cringed as the icy water spread over his chest.

"Try that move again, you may find out," smirked Abby, patting the mound of melting snow beneath his jacket, "but I don't think you will."

- - -

"Come on in, dry off now you all," said Herb as he passed out towels and warm blankets in the lounge as everyone removed their soaking jackets. "Hang your things on the rack here. Nisha's brewing up that hot chocolate as we speak."

Without further instruction needed, everyone stripped themselves of their wet coats and scarves, draping the dripping items on hangers that Herb provided. Charlie and Abby had both needed to borrow dry extra shirts from co-workers as their own were too damp to wear. Simeon had graciously lent Charlie his black t-shirt from beneath his black sweater while Abby took Justin Arbor's Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, which was at least two sizes too large as it hung off one of her shoulders and revealed a white strap between the start of her arm and her neck.

"Good, good," muttered Herb as Abby and Charlie hung their items last. "Would you too mind taking this rack to my office? I'll set some Drying Spells on them when I get there, but got to get these towels around first."

"Sure," nodded Abby, grabbing one end of the movable rack and pulling it out the lounge door as Charlie followed along behind.

"I've forgotten what a good snowball fighter you are," Charlie said, making small conversation as they walked the short way to Herb's office down the corridor. "Been so long since Gryffindor creamed Slytherin in those massive snowball battles."

"You aren't too bad yourself, when you aim correctly at least," chuckled Abby, walking ahead to open the door to their destination.

With a quick shove of the coat rack on wheels, it went into the small office space smoothly, fitting next to the desk as if it were made to go there. Dusting off his hands of the job, Charlie walked out of the office, closing the door behind him to where Abby was waiting with her bare shoulder towards him.

"You know, I think that hockey jersey suits you," he commented, lifting the loose shoulder and placing it over her showing white bra strap. "You look strangely good in it."

Abby gave him a raised eyebrow, before she began to laugh quietly from behind her left hand. "I think all that snow I shoved down your shirt is making you delusional, Charlie Weasley."

She punched Charlie's arm lightly, and began to walk down the hallway towards lounge, following the entrancing scent of the promised chocolate chip cookies. With a heavy sigh, Charlie waited as she vanished into the busy room before he held his arm where she had just hit him.

"Come on, Charlie," the head of Australian Jeffrey Young poked out from the lounge door, "while the chocolate is still hot."

"Coming," Charlie muttered, walking slowly down the hallway in the same path that Abby had just taken.

"Watch yourself there!" Jeff pointed towards the ceiling.

Looking over his head about a foot in front of him, Charlie observed a dangling green garland. In its centre were plump little white berries, sparkling as if they had been dusted with glitter while the entire piece hung from a hook. He had undoubtedly seen it before around his own home. His dad had always made it a part of holiday tradition to have it around.

"You know I love you loads, mate," Jeff shook his head, "but if I kissed you under the mistletoe, Alex would kill me."

**A/N:** Little bits of slashy-ness in there, or at least that's what previous responses have said of this particular chapter, but I think I'm subtle enough. Nothing else to say. Just enjoy it.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: The New Years Bash

**nativewildmage:** Good to know this story serves as a nice break. Good luck on your midterm exams and I hope you do well. Thank you for replying.

**teacher123:** Thank you for the compliment. Charlie's lack of appearances in the canon do make him an intriguing speculation for fanfiction.

- - -

**Chapter Fifteen: The New Years Bash**

Bright late morning sunlight awoke Charlie on Christmas morning as it streamed from the uncovered window into his closed eyes. Pulling his blanket over his head did little good, the light having already made its presence known and forcing him to acknowledge that he had to wake up. Throwing off the thick covers and rising out of his warm bed, Charlie instinctively prodded an exhausted Simeon out of the top bunk, though he was met with some difficulty actually getting his roommate to awaken.

Once Simeon had fallen to the floor with a tremendous thud, both of the boys grabbed thick sweaters from their wardrobes, putting them on over their nightshirts along with a pairs of shoes. With thoughts of a hot breakfast accompanied with steaming coffee in their minds, they trekked into the snowy grounds and up to the main building. Heading straight for the mess hall they passed Alexander Thomas and Jeffrey Young, lip-locked beneath the mistletoe by the lounge, without a word, as both parties were quite occupied with other things already.

"Hello fellows," Herb called out from the lounge, already wearing his red robes with white trim topped with the matching hat. He ushered for Simeon and Charlie to enter before they could completely bypass the room in their run for food. "Breakfast is in here today. Just help yourselves."

Stepping into the room, both men's eyes fell on the long buffet table laid out in front of the hearth, bearing enough food to assume Nisha had stayed up all night to prepare it. There were a grand variety of fluffy pancakes, plates carrying succulent strips of bacon, trays of fresh seasonal fruit, gooey cinnamon buns, crisp toast, different kinds of eggs, and large pots of stimulating coffee, all of which tempted the senses to try a bit of everything. Having to keep the temptation under control, Charlie piled a decent-sized breakfast onto his plate as he scanned the room for a place to sit down and enjoy it.

Most of those who were awake, including Simeon, were sitting in front of the Muggle television set watching a sort of parade commentated in Romanian, not caring that they couldn't understand the language. A few others were at game tables, opening presents while munching on their toast and sipping their cups of coffee. Tamara Cohen and Ethan Goldstein had seats near their menorah, half of the lights ablaze, while in the solitude of a corner near the decorated Christmas tree was Abby, curled on a couch with what looked like a book in her hands as she read in silence.

"Merry Christmas," Charlie greeted Abby, coming from behind her to glance at what she was reading and observing she had chosen an appropriate Christmas story, Luke in the Bible.

"A Merry Christmas to you too," replied Abby with a small smile as she placed a ribbon marker in the book while Charlie strolled around the couch and planted himself beside her with his plate in his lap. "You look like you've slept well."

Charlie nodded, shoving some scrambled eggs into his mouth with a content sigh. His friend laughed, using her thumb and index finger to pick a bit of lint off of his emerald-coloured jumper. Rising from her seat and walking to the Christmas tree, she kicked a large wrapped package to his feet.

"That came by owl this morning," said Abby, sitting back down next to Charlie as he put his plate aside and turned his attention to the brown box, "all the way from The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole."

Untying the string wrapped around the package, Charlie already had an idea about what item could have come from home. It was no secret as to what his mother would send him at Christmas, as she sent one to all of her children every Christmas no matter what. Ripping the brown packaging paper away as Abby looked on, he opened the box to find exactly what he had expected.

"Ah, the famous Weasley jumper in yellow," remarked Abby as he took the new knitted sweater with a large purple C on the front out of the parcel, quickly removing the one on his back to replace it with his gift. "I remember those."

"Can always count on a new one every Christmas," grinned Charlie, pulling his new acquisition over his head, thoughts of all his brothers and Ginny wearing their new jumpers at that precise moment. "Warmest thing I'll ever own."

"I remember. You let me wear yours a few times while you bossed us all around the Quidditch pitch on those chilly morning practices," recalled Abby, giving Charlie a teasing dirty look with her arms folded across her own dark plum sweater.

He raised his eyebrows and narrowed his brown pupils on Abby, mimicking her vivid expression. The two stared at each other, attempting to get the other to back down as if it was a competition. Only a moment had passed before both of them lost and collapsed their faces in howling laughter.

"What did you get from home?" Charlie asked with a cough, losing his breath in his chortle.

"Traditional things," replied Abby, taking in deep gulps of air in order to halt her own insane amount of giggling.

"Like..." Charlie pressed forward.

"Well, your mother makes jumpers..." Abby started, putting her covered feet on Charlie's lap and wiggling her toes within white stockings. "Mine buys socks, very practical."

Before Charlie could seize the opportunity to tickle the bottom of Abby's feet, she pulled them away and grounded them on the floor. She gave him a hard look, knowing that if her feet were still in his lap she would have been on the ground in giggles.

"I have something for you," Abby exclaimed, reaching over the side of the couch and producing a small green box with a red ribbon around it.

"Oh," breathed Charlie as the tiny present fell into his palm. He looked at the gift, and back at Abby, his cheeks flushing. "I feel silly now. I didn't get you anything."

"That's okay," Abby scoffed. "Open it."

Obeying her command, Charlie pulled the ribbon off of the box and removed the lid only to have whatever was it in speed out of its confinement and fly into the air. As quick as a flash, it zipped by his head, zooming around him just at the height of his eyes. With a snap of his Seeker reflexes, he caught the flying present in his right palm and peeked at what it was.

"Oh, wow," he gaped, staring at the winged golden ball that wriggled in his hand. "I haven't ever...wow."

"I know it's a bit silly," Abby said nervously, tucking a stray brown hair that had escaped her loose unfinished ponytail behind her ear, "but I thought it might remind you of your old Quidditch days."

"I love it," whispered Charlie, examining his gift thoroughly. "Normally you'd have to buy the whole set just to get a Snitch."

"Well, you've got to keep your practice up," verified Abby with a small toothy grin. "One day England will make you an offer you can't refuse and we can't have you out of Seeker shape."

"Thank you," Charlie nodded, putting the Golden Snitch back into the box before throwing his arms around his friend. "It's really great of you."

Squeezing Abby around her shoulders, Charlie rested his head in tied back hair, noting the subtle smell of citrus fruits. He felt the fabric of her purple sweater move around his neck, the material making his spine itch slightly. Despite the mild irritation of his skin against her jumper, he didn't break apart from the hug.

"Hey, you two!" Alexander hit Charlie over the head with a rolled up newspaper to make the embracing friends finally break apart and look up at his taunting grey eyes. "Quit the hugging, and go use the mistletoe. It's more fun, and it's free now."

Abby laughed, shaking her head as she picked up the Bible and found the place she had left off. "I think we're good, Alex."

"Suit yourselves," shrugged Alex, putting a Los Angeles Lions Quodpot hat on his head before stalking away to the television set, leaving the couple of friends to their reading and breakfast.

- - -

"You'll be attending the party tonight won't you, Abby?"

"I'll be there," Abby answered as she walked past Ethan Goldstein on her way to her dormitory. "No fun to ring in the New Year alone."

Waving merrily goodbye to Ethan, Abby continued her trek through the thin layer of snow, stamping her boots on the welcome mat before she went into the girls' residence. Soaring up the three flights of stairs while pulling her toque, gloves and scarf off, her body was eager to have a hot shower after the long hours she had put in at the infirmary finishing up her weeklong process of replenishing the potion stock. With most of the floor void of researchers having gone home for the holidays, there was no complaining as she ran for her room and thrust the door open to walk in.

"Hello Abby," an unexpected voice came from the room, causing her to jump back and close the door with her leap.

A head of wavy brown hair popped from around the corner, beaming brightly at the sight of Abby, though it was quickly replaced with a concerned expression at seeing the shocked Healer slammed against the door. The person hopped down off of Bella's bed, a wand drawn and ready in one hand and a small stack of photographs in the other. "Did I frighten you?"

"Bella, you're back early," Abby sighed in relief, pushing herself off of the door.

"Yes," Bella grinned as Abby walked into the room calmly. "Once all my relatives went back home, it got a bit boring just watching Puffskeins bounce around the yard. Bit hard to concentrate on writing my book what with fur brushing against my leg every few minutes, so I caught the next train back."

"Well, did you have a good Christmas?" asked Abby, undoing her sweat-clumped ponytail and letting her hair hang loose.

"Come see for yourself. I'm just putting up all the pictures."

Bella pointed to her wall of pictures, directing Abby's attention towards the new ones that had just been placed up there to make a full line along the border. With a Sticking Charm on the last few, she made the wall complete for the time being, proud of her workmanship. The entire new addition to the area above Bella's bed was composed mainly of pictures of people, whom Abby could safely assume was her incredibly large family. Everyone in the frames waved, and a few made silly faces, though not for long before someone in the picture would smack their head and force them to behave properly.

"It was a good Christmas," Bella sighed blissfully, straightening one of the photos of herself along with two other people her age. "So nice when we all get together."

With the look of a sudden brilliant idea crossing her face, Bella dropped her wand on her bed and began to rummage through her suitcase, which still needed to be unpacked. Throwing countless numbers of bright pastel coloured sweaters and robes aside, many of which looked brand new, Bella reached for a small package wrapped in tissue paper from the very bottom.

"Mama gave this to me," she explained, unwrapping the gift from the thick protective covering she had given it. "I used to love this when I was little, always asked to see it and all. She's finally let me have it."

Throwing away the last of the paper, an ornately carved wooden picture frame was revealed. Showing the unmoving Muggle photo inside, Abby observed two young people in a tight embrace, a man and woman at about twenty years or so in age. The woman had long curls of dark brown hair and a wide tooth-filled grin while the man had familiar sparkling hazel eyes that Abby had definitely seen before.

"These must be your parents," Abby concluded, taking the frame into her hands as Bella passed it to her.

"Yes," smiled Bella, beaming down at the old memory. "My uncle Nerio took that picture when my parents just started dating. Don't they look so sweet together?"

"They do," agreed Abby, carefully handing the picture back to Bella, who lovingly placed it on her desk. "Oh, and thank you for the Christmas present."

"You're very welcome," said Bella, picking up her wand to finish her unpacking. "I hope you liked it."

"Scarves are always a good present," chuckled Abby, recalling the large brown bag filled with the pieces of fabric still in Bella's closet. "In case you want to know, there's a New Year's Eve party tonight."

"Oh," exclaimed Bella excitedly. "Yes, I've been told there's one every year. I've never come back in time for it though. How exciting! I can finally go. Cousin Nicola got me a new dress, and now I have an occasion to wear it."

- - -

Room 205 was exceptionally quiet as night fell over the reserve, its two inhabitants busying themselves too much to talk. Simeon lay atop his covers on the bunk bed, an open and almost empty box of assorted chocolates he had received from Bella next to him as he chewed on a cream-filled piece. At the desk, Charlie was scribbling away on parchment with the new eagle quill his roommate had given him, hastily finishing a letter to his brother, Bill, in Egypt.

Checking his silver sun watch, Charlie dipped his quill into his black inkbottle again, signing his name to end the correspondence. Blowing air onto the parchment, he took his navy zip sweater off of his chair, throwing it on as the last wet ink dried. He rolled up the letter, taking some string from his drawer to tie it up in two places before shoving it into his pocket.

"I think I'll go straight to the party after I send this owl off," Charlie informed Simeon as he pulled his winter boots out of his closet and slipped them onto his feet. "Will I meet you there?"

Simeon shrugged. "I don't know. It is the same every year: food, drink, and everyone searching for a kiss at midnight. I have little interest in that."

"Are you sure now?" Charlie enquired, putting on his gloves. "Everyone that's here is going to be going tonight, for the countdown at the least."

"I have all I need," replied Simeon, taking another piece of dark chocolate out of the box.

Charlie breathed heavily, opening the door and getting ready to depart. Turning to his roommate one last time, he decided to present his final, and most convincing argument to get Simeon out to the party.

"By the way, I was talking to Herb today. Seems that Bella came back from Italy early this year. Just thought you should know in case you want to thank her for the chocolate."

- - -

By the time Charlie had made his way into the newly decorated lounge, paper chains and cloth banners shouting out how much longer before 1995 arrived draped around all the walls, it seemed almost everyone had arrived already. The room was packed with those taking their holiday on the reserve dressed in a range from casual work clothes to dress robes. Many of his co-workers had chosen to crowd in the centre of the room where another long buffet table, not as long as the Christmas breakfast one, had been set up mounted with assorted sweets and drinks for everyone. From the corner of his eye, it seemed that Simeon had beaten Charlie in getting to the party, his sullen face scanning the crowd for a familiar face, or rather one face in particular, from his quiet little nook at the edge of the room. 

"Charlie," the excited voice of Bella reached Charlie's ears before he could make his way over to Simeon's side. 

Looking to his left, Bella waved, excusing herself from speaking to another man and walked over in Charlie's direction. Her normal clothing colour of baby blue or pastel pink had been replaced by midnight black in the form of an above-the-knee dress that flattered every curve in her body. Amongst her loose curls of hair sparkled a pair of silver earrings that complimented the shimmer of her eyes and glow of her teeth. Far from the normal sweet look that Bella sported, there was no other way to say it in Charlie's mind: she looked stunningly sexy.

"Good to see you again," she chirped warmly, giving Charlie a hug.

"Same here," breathed Charlie. "I have to say it. You look terrific."

"Thanks," Bella beamed graciously, tossing her hair behind her shoulder, "but to tell the truth, I feel a little overdressed."

Charlie looked down at his own attire, which consisted of jeans, a white t-shirt and his navy jacket. In comparison to the fine clothing Bella wore, he felt a lot like a vagrant that had stumbled into a fancy cocktail party.

"You look like you at least belong to this party," Bella laughed, gesturing to the loads of people wearing plain everyday clothes. "Oh well though. I wanted an event to wear this to anyway."

"Hello Miss Bella," Simeon came alongside the two as they spoke, finally leaving his solitary corner for conversation. "You look vell."

"So do you," said Bella, returning his kind compliment. "How has your holiday been?"

"I'm going to go find Abby," Charlie quickly excused himself before the two could immerse in a talk, wanting to leave them alone.

"I think she vas talking to Mr Donaldson." Simeon pointed to the other side of the lounge close to the hearth, eager to have a private moment with Bella.

Hurry off in the direction Simeon had pointed him towards, Charlie walked in between groups of talking people and pushed his way past the refreshment table, grabbing a few pieces of coconut ice and a glass of water as he went. Popping the shimmering pink sweet into his mouth, he passed a few of his friends with a quick hello before brushing them aside. Finally getting a good view of the fireplace, he saw Abby with Ryan Donaldson, seeming to be in an animated discussion about Quidditch in Australia and the United Kingdom.

"I mean, really, the Woollongong Warriors Beaters have a better winning record than your Falmouth Falcons Beaters," argued Ryan, shaking his finger enthusiastically as he sipped from a small goblet of Firewhisky. "Against the Thundelarra Thunderers, they're absolutely brutal."

"Yes, but I think you're forgetting the Falcon motto," rebuked Abby, "which is, 'Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads.' Are those the words of a team with weak Beaters? Not only that, but Falcons have more competition in the United Kingdom League, and thus more games than the Warriors who only play two teams during their season."

"Take my advice and don't bother trying to argue about better Beaters," interrupted Charlie before Ryan could mutter another sentence, "or you may find yourself on the wrong end of Abby's Bludger Backbeat."

Ryan gave Charlie a quizzical look, and stared back to the slender woman of twenty-two years, who merely smiled sweetly. Seeming rather confused on whether or not to believe Charlie's claim, Ryan took the easy way out, and walked back to the refreshment table to freshen his drink.

"It's not that good a Backbeat," Abby corrected Charlie once Ryan was out of earshot range.

"You still don't want to be on the wrong end of it, regardless if it's you hitting it or not" justified Charlie, plopping another piece of shiny pink coconut ice into his mouth with a devilish smirk.

Hours had passed as Abby and Charlie wandered around the lounge, mingling and making small talk with their fellow co-workers, meeting up with Bella somewhere along the line and Simeon who seemed to not be far behind her as he carried her glass of champagne.

"One minute to midnight," a banner hanging from the ceiling bellowed for all to hear, bringing everyone's attention to the time.

"Everyone pair up, we're down to the last minute," Herb repeated, holding Nisha's hand tightly. "Get ready for the midnight kiss for that special someone."

"Time really flies, doesn't it?" Abby commented, looking nervously at the countdown on the banners. "Didn't realise it was so close to midnight."

"You're not going to turn into a pumpkin, are you?" chuckled Charlie.

Looking about the room, the ladies were being quickly snatched up at an alarming rate, not many having stayed for the holidays leaving them to be drastically outnumbered by the men. Frantically they searched the room for someone still available. In front of Simeon's eyes Bella agreed to accept a kiss from Clemente Basso, a dragon keeper from Milan, with a hearty laugh.

"Getting pretty crazy in here," Charlie turned to talk to Abby.

But Abby had vanished from Charlie's side, and he spotted her pushing her way through the couples, heading towards the corridor with her head kept low, as if hoping no one would see her escaping from the party. Curiously, Charlie followed, excusing himself quietly as he walked by the puckered pairs of people.

"Last ten seconds," the banner shouted, beginning the loud countdown to midnight.

Rushing out of the door, Abby made sure to close it behind her, making her leaving clean and unnoticed by anyone other than Charlie. Pushing his way between Alexander and Jeffrey, he reached for the doorknob. 

"THREE...TWO...ONE...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" everyone in the lounge shouted excitedly, those who had paired off leaning in to each other for kisses as Charlie made a fast exit in pursuit of Abby. 

She had gone no farther than just outside the door, her back against the wall with her head resting in her hands. Taking deep steady breaths, it was as if she was trying to establish a calm state after tremendous shock while the singing voices of the masses echoed in the corridor.

"Abby, are you okay?" Charlie asked, touching her shoulder and making her leap.

With a deep sigh of relief, she nodded and smiled. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Charlie enquired further, sensing that Abby was only telling half of the truth.

"Of course," she persisted, shrugging her shoulders casually. "It's just really hot in there, that's all. Needed some air before I suffocated."

Charlie smiled, wrapping his arm around Abby's shoulder. As soon as he'd grabbed her opposing arm, she snuggled into his shirt and hugged him. Responding right away, he returned the embrace, comforting her silent sorrow that Charlie had some idea had to do with her jerk of an ex-fiancé. There was no need for further words between them as they held onto each other, finding a hug was all they wanted.

"To another year!" Herb's voice from the lounge shouted, penetrating through the walls and echoing into the corridor.

"To another year!" the rest of the room repeated at ten times the volume.

"Ready to face the room again?" Charlie asked, not releasing his hold on Abby.

"Sure," replied Abby, partly breaking away from the embrace.

With his arm still around her shoulder, they went back into the room where the party was still in full swing. Luminous red and white balloons had rained down from the ceiling and were being batted in all directions, obscuring the view. Nonetheless, it wasn't difficult to find Simeon and Bella in the crowd. Following the familiar rambling voice, Charlie had soon led Abby to her roommate.

"Oh no, I'm not actually dating Clemente or anything," Bella explained with a little giggle in her tone. "We used to know each other at school when we were younger. He was in the same year as my cousins, Raul and Nicola. If I'm going to kiss someone for the heck of it, I may as well kiss someone I know if it's not someone I fancy. Oh, hello Charlie."

With a wave, Charlie and Abby wandered into the conversation amidst the hundreds of balloons. Brushing many of the red and white balls away from their little circle, Bella had a confused expression on her face.

"I have this dreadful feeling I'm forgetting something about today," she sighed when Abby asked, trying to think about what she could have possibly not remembered. "I really don't like being so forgetful all the time."

Thinking hard for a moment, Charlie tried to remember if there was something he knew about the day, the forgetful feeling Bella had filling him. Pressing his thumb and index finger to his chin, it hit him like a Bludger to the head. His eyes widened, and he quickly grabbed four champagne flutes off of the nearby refreshment table, passing them to Bella, Abby and Simeon in a rush while raising his own glass above his head.

"Happy Birthday, Simeon!"

**A/N:** Hm...what can I make notes on here? There was a slight reference to religion, so I repeat that I'm not trying to preach. And if I get any reference wrong feel free to correct me too. I don't claim any expertise.

Bella's described dress is slightly based off of a dress worn by Emmy Rossum in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow." Her character, Laura Chapman, had a little black dress in a party scene near the start, which inspired Bella's little black dress.

And Simeon's birthday is January 1.

Keep reading! And reviewing!


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Norbert and the Newcome

**teacher123:** Thank you. Glad you enjoyed.

**nativewildmage:** Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you liked it. Sorry it didn't fulfill your hope.

- - -

**Chapter Sixteen: Norbert and the Newcomer**

The New Year brought back a lot of things to the reserve. Though the cold weather still lingered about in the air, many of the workers, both researchers and dragon keepers, returned from their winter vacations. With the dragons still in states of lethargy, it wasn't an odd occurrence for the dragon keepers to have days between their next scheduled shift, though Herb was good at finding various office tasks to keep many of his employees busy and earning their pay checks when not on the fields. With the returning workers, came the old noisy atmosphere that had been absent for the holidays. The hallway rang with life once again, laughter, chatter and screams echoing off the walls constantly. It was the home away from home everyone remembered.

"What are you working on, Bella?" Li Ming Lee asked her fellow research team member as she wiped an enchanted microscope and some of the slides with a dab of magenta cleaning solution. "It's almost time for dinner."

"Just some observation notes," answered Bella with a light sigh, not looking up from her papers on the laboratory bench. "I've been writing in Italian again, so I've got to translate them before I forget to do it later."

"All right," Li Ming shrugged, carefully using her wand to move the microscope back in its place at the back of the room and place the slides back in the appropriate containers. "Turn off the lights when you're done or Tamara Cohen will have your head."

"Thanks Li," responded Bella, grateful for any sort of reminder to her absent-minded memory as her co-worker left the room.

Moving her hand to wave goodbye as Li Ming shut the door to the laboratory, her elbow joint hit the bottle of ink on her table. Knocking over, the container spilt its wet black contents over a few of her papers, onto the floor and Bella's own pants, leaving a trail behind it.

"Oh, marvellous," cursed Bella over her clumsy nature as she grabbed the bottle so no more ink could dribble out and cause more damage.

Grabbing her wand, she cleaned her beige coloured pants first, the stain evaporating like steam as sparks scrubbed it out of her clothes. She then turned to her papers, siphoning her work in the same manner, hoping that none of her careful hours of observation were lost in the process.

"And this is our researching facility, here," a voice entered as the door banged open against the wall. "Oh, Bella!"

"Herb," Bella smiled brightly to the new company, looking up from her newly cleaned papers. Putting her work and wand down, she unknowingly stepped in the small pool of ink under the bench as she moved towards her boss, leaving a few black footprints behind her. "Do what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You're just what I need, dear girl," beamed Herb, patting Bella on the shoulder of her clean blue sweater and looking at her caringly through his tiny glasses, ignoring the mess of black ink that trailed her. "I'd like you to meet a new member of the team, just arrived all the way from Southampton this afternoon. Maybe you could show him around the laboratory and researching wing."

His hand gestured towards the open door, and the new researcher leaning casually against the frame.

"I'd be delighted," grinned Bella happily, her heart giving a leap as she recognized who stood before her.

- - -

"Have you seen this? You won't believe it! That awful Skeeter woman!"

Charlie pushed the newspaper clipping across the long table towards Abby, giving her green eyes only a moment to scan the article in her hands. He watched as her pupils enlarged in shock and her mouth gaped open. Slamming the clipping down to the table, her green irises met with Charlie's directly.

"When was this published?" she enquired, shaking her head in disgust.

"Yesterday, in the Daily Prophet," muttered Charlie, suppressing his full fury. "Mum owled it to me straight away."

"The woman is..." Abby's nostrils flared in anger as she searched her mind for the right word that wasn't a cursing one, coming out unsuccessfully and abandoning the sentence. "This is absolute rubbish. 'Terrify the students' and 'maimed several pupils during a series of lessons.' Flobberworms don't even have teeth. And Hippogriffs only attack when provoked to do so."

"Precisely," concurred Charlie. "Hagrid is being portrayed as some sort of monster when he is nothing more than a gentle giant. I guess actually being a part-giant speaks against him though."

"And his experimental breeding didn't help either," sighed Abby, her eyes moving to the next paragraph of the article. "Blast-Ended Skrewts. How Hagrid."

"Vas he that large man that came to our tent vith the rock cakes?" asked Simeon, not completely following on what Abby and Charlie had been discussing as he slurped on his ramen noodles. "The one in moleskin?"

"That's him," Abby nodded, recognizing the games-keeper by description. "This is insane. Hagrid isn't a dangerous association. He may like harmful, poisonous and potentially fatal creatures, but he's no danger to society or students himself. The Daily Prophet will be hearing from me, mark my words."

"I'm writing to Dumbledore himself," declared Charlie, taking a gulp from his goblet. "There is no way Dumbledore would let Hagrid lose his job over one little article by a crazy reporter, but I'm going to make sure that if he is sacked, that I'll have a complaint about it."

"Amen to that," agreed Abby, raising her goblet to the conclusion.

Quiet fell over the threesome as they continued to eat their dinner at the end of a long table, the anger inside them over the article festering for the quill on parchment later. Though their co-workers were talking all around them on different topics, Charlie and Abby were beyond coherent anger towards the infamous defamer of the Daily Prophet, Rita Skeeter. 

"Vhere is Bella?" Simeon asked, for the first time ending the unusually quiet meal between the three of them. "She does not normally miss dinner."

"Probably eating with the researchers or something," suggested Charlie, glad for the change of topic.

Abby nodded along with Charlie's plausible explanation, placing some leafy green vegetables in her mouth using the chopsticks. Unsatisfied with the answer, Simeon threw down his napkin into his empty bowl, scanning the mess hall through his dark bangs for the missing companion of their regular quartet. She wasn't sitting amongst her regular researcher friends across the room, giving Simeon a reason to be concerned over her whereabouts while Charlie and Abby occupied themselves with their food.

He didn't get a chance to say a further word on the matter, as Bella came through the doors with another person linked to her arm.

Looking up to the researcher as she walked up to Nisha's counter for her own supper, Simeon couldn't remove his eyes from the tall man in a tan leather jacket that had his arm entwined in hers. Beneath the bright lights above the countertop, he had dark brown hair, though with the slightest step away from the luminosity, it seemed his mane was as black as night. Bella turned and walked towards the tables with her tray of noodles, and he followed along beside her, his handsome face becoming visible to the crowd. As they walked alongside each other talking rapidly, they seemed to share the common qualities of large grins and laughing eyes.

"Oh, look, there's Bella," Charlie pointed out, having just looked up from his tray. Waving his arms, he caught Bella's attention quickly, calling her and the mysterious new man over to their place at the table.

"Hi all," greeted Bella happily. A small bounce in her step sent a dribble of soup over the side of her bowl, though she barely noticed as she turned to the dark-haired man at her side. "Seth, allow me to introduce you. Everyone, this is..."

"You're Seth Johansson," Abby said immediately, recognizing the man on the spot without delay, "The Healer Herald's columnist."

"Yes," nodded the man, holding his tray in one hand, extending the other to shake Abby's hand as he looked at her quizzically. "You look really familiar too, actually. Have we met before?"

"Not that I'm aware of," replied Abby, graciously taking his palm into hers. "I'm Abby Ridges, resident Healer."

"And this is Charlie Weasley, and Simeon Slovensky," Bella finished the introduction that she had begun, gesturing to the two men sitting beside each other on the bench.

"Hello," said Seth politely, shaking Charlie's hand. Moving to shake Simeon's, he found that the surly looking gentlemen hadn't been too receptive, merely nodding his head as acknowledgement than take Seth's hand.

"Charlie and Simeon are two of the dragon keepers," added Bella, looking into Seth's bright grey eyes, "perhaps they could give you some information that could aide your research or column."

"I'm not that far along yet," chuckled Seth, putting his free hand on Bella's shoulder, "but I was hoping to get a closer look at the dragons, even if they are sleeping. I hope it'll give me some inspiration. Do you think that would be possible?"

Charlie shrugged casually. "I'm sure it would be, if you'd like. I could take you on a hike over to the caves. I've been meaning to pay a little visit to Norbert anyway."

"That would be excellent," exclaimed Seth with a nod. "We could talk more about that tomorrow, perhaps?"

"Just see us at lunch, and I'm sure we can work something out," Charlie responded with a nod.

"Well, we best get to dinner," said Bella, brushing past the table. "Sorry we can't stay longer to chat, but I must introduce Seth to the other researchers. Tamara Cohen will definitely want to meet you."

"Nice meeting you all," Seth waved goodbye, letting Bella drag him to the other end of the room where the researchers were eating.

Watching Simeon as Bella vanished into the crowds with the newcomer, Charlie observed the tight clench of his roommate's fists on his tray. His knuckles had become as white as Yeti fur while his gaze was fixed on Seth Johansson in a stare that could only be described as envious.

- - -

It was immediately clear that Seth had been serious about taking a hike to the caves, unlike other researchers who had placed informal requests to see the dragons closer and never followed up before. Within a few days, the researcher was in full dragon keeper winter gear, additionally equipped with notebooks and a camera, and heading out into the field with Charlie and Simeon, who had insisted on coming along for reasons Charlie didn't bother to ask for.

The trek to the mountain caves where the Norwegian Ridgebacks resided was not far or perilous by any means, but climbing atop the mountains to where the dragons lived was trickier for that particular time of year. The snow and ice that littered the mountainside was particularly hard and slippery, making the trail more dangerous than it would have been during other months. Using their wands at the difficult parts, it was a long day the three men were in for.

"So, Bella was telling me that you were doing research in Australia last year," Charlie said, trying to make casual conversation to kill the eerie silence as they slowly walked up the rocky and snow-covered terrain.

"Yes, had an assignment about Billywig stings and how they could be used to cure long-term bouts of depression," replied Seth with an invigorated sigh as he followed along behind Charlie. "Fascinating little study."

"Did you enjoy the country?" asked Charlie, knowing Simeon wouldn't be entering their conversation any time soon.

"Very much so," answered Seth, a reminiscing grin crossing his face, "and it's very different from here, naturally. It's bloody hot there right now, being summer and all. But learned how to surf, saw the amazing sights, did loads of neat things. One of the perks of the job, I guess."

With a deep breath of the fresh winter mountain air, Seth took in the sight of the dragon domain below. Covered in thin flaky snow, there was little activity going on beneath them, making it look as though the men stood on the top of an inhabited world, fresh, new and innocent without sin. It was only a nudge in the shoulder from Simeon that made Seth leave his thought for the moment and continue to hike on behind Charlie.

"So, who is this Norbert we're going to see?" Seth asked out of curiosity, catching up with a quick run, stumbling a little on the slipperier part of the rocks.

"A dragon," replied Charlie.

"I figured as much," joked Seth, glancing over his shoulder to see how far Simeon was behind him. "What sort? Why does he have a name?"

"There's a bit of a story to it," Charlie responded. "You see he was an illegal Norwegian Ridgeback egg that a close friend of mine at Hogwarts decided to hatch as a pet and named him Norbert. Of course, he didn't have the proper materials to take care of the little creature, dragons aren't meant to be pets after all, and he was getting mighty big as a baby. I was asked to take care of him before he could join the colony, so I sort of took care of him for a few weeks when he was young, as a favour to my friend, and then he went off on his own and came out here and settled in a cave. I still like to come take a personal look at how he's doing, so I can tell Hagrid."

"Are you speaking of the games-keeper from Hogwarts, Hagrid?" asked Seth with interest, trying to keep his balance as he spoke. "The big man with the moleskin coat and that black boarhound?"

"The one and the same," Charlie nodded, not slowing down his pace for the talk.

"I recognize you now," Seth exclaimed excitedly, making Charlie halt on his way up the mountain peak and wait for the researcher to follow. "You were the Gryffindor Seeker when I was in school. Never lost a match if I remember, top notch."

Charlie paused, his cheeks and nose becoming red from the cold air. "Yeah, that might have been me."

"Oh, I know it now. I remember," Seth pressed forward, proudly puffing out his chest at his mind's accomplishment. "You caused my house to lose the Quidditch Cup one year. And Abby, she was that awesome Beater girl. Now I know where I've seen her before. You two put my house team, Ravenclaw, to shame. I thought you'd get snatched up by England though."

"Nope, I went chasing dragons," said Charlie, getting back to his hike as Seth trailed behind him with Simeon close enough to step on the heels of his shoes.

"How great it is to meet you, the famous Gryffindor Seeker, out here in Romania," sighed Seth in reverence before turning around, meeting Simeon face to face. "So, where are you from, Simeon?"

"Bulgaria," Simeon answered curtly, ushering for Seth to keep going so he could bring up the rear.

"So you must have gone to Durmstrang," commented Seth, taking a few steps forward and turning around again to speak properly. "I hear it's very cold, but lovely there."

"Sure," nodded Simeon pointing forward, hoping Seth would get the idea.

"You know, Bulgaria has got a great Quidditch team," stated Seth, walking ahead a little further and facing Simeon again. "The Vratsa Vultures are world famous for all their European Cup wins. Do you like Quidditch?"

"Yes," replied Simeon, giving Seth another prod in the shoulder to send him sprinting up the path behind Charlie, silently.

Pushing a bit farther upwards, already halfway up the range, Charlie called a stop at a large fifty-foot cave at the side of the mountain. Approaching very slowly with his wand drawn and ready for any sign of movement, he entered first. A loud snore and a puff of smoke alerted him to the idea that it was safe to enter, the dragon within being fast asleep. Climbing up onto a ledge that went right around the cave as if it was a path, he gestured for Seth and Simeon to follow him in.

Taking great care with zipped lips, the two followed Charlie onto the thin rock outcrop, balancing their weight as they walked behind their leader with his illuminated wand. The snores became louder as they went deeper into the damp and dark cave, coming closer to the Norwegian Ridgeback that dwelled inside. Subtle drips of water from the melting snow were the only sounds echoing off the walls as they crept in until Charlie stopped abruptly.

His wand tip pointed down over the ledge, illuminating black scales and sharp ridges along a large spine. Craning his neck, Seth peered down to see a large full-grown twenty-foot long dragon. With his regularly yellow eyes shut off and puffs of smoke emitting from his nostrils as he snored, Norbert seemed completely docile as he slept. It was probably the only time this dragon was completely harmless unless he decided to swat his spiked tail.

"Amazing," Seth breathed quietly, barely audible by Simeon or Charlie on his either side.

Taking a seat on the thin ledge with his legs dangling over the side, Seth took out his notebook, taking the opportunity to make as many observations as possible. By the light of Charlie's wand, he took record of whatever he could think of, drawing from the inspiration of Norbert sleeping just below his feet while his dragon keeper companions waited patiently, taking the time to check that everything on their equipment belts was still in place.

Not wanting to disturb Simeon and Charlie, Seth quietly took his camera from his shoulder satchel. Adjusting the focus and turning on the flash in the dark cavern, he narrowed in on Norbert's head, wanting to capture the moment on film for future reference. Once he had the clear image in his field, he readied to snap the picture just as Simeon turned his head.

"No!" he quietly shouted, moving to place his hand over the flash of Seth's camera as Charlie spun his head back around to realise what was going on.

In the sudden and unexpected sound of Simeon's voice, Seth lowered his camera, just as his finger pushed down on the button. The flash went off like a bolt of lightening in the cave, illuminating the entire area for only a split second.

"Oh no," cursed Charlie, stumbling a little on the outcrop as he tried to get into a ready stance with his wand.

Norbert stirred at the sudden snap and blinding light that had entered his domain. His large yellow eyes flickered open, scanning the immediate area at the bottom of the lair for the disturbance that had rudely awoken him. Three hearts beat at an incredible rate as the dragon rose a foot on his small forearms, sniffing about for a scent as his spiked tail lifted and shook loosely about.

"Grab him," Charlie whispered in Simeon's direction, pointing down to the sitting Seth, who was watching in both fear and awe. "And follow my lead."

As Simeon grasped Seth by the collar of his jacket, yanking him into a standing position, Charlie waved his wand in the air. Silver sparks began to fly around the cave, followed by a soothingly soft lullaby that made Norbert halt in his tracks and abandon his investigation. Going along with the instructions, Simeon copied Charlie's wand movements, producing the same effects of a soft melody. Seth soon caught on to the effect it was taking on Norbert, removing his own wand and following along with the Songbird Spell to send the dragon into a trance.

Successfully, Norbert's eyes became glassed over and watery as they began to fall slowly. Crawling back into his place, resting his head on a boulder as if it were a soft pillow, the dragon relaxed from movement. His tail fell back and with a deep breath, his eyes shut with a bit of tired tear water escaping, evaporating as he began to snore again.

Gesturing for Seth and Simeon to follow, Charlie led the way out while Norbert was still sleeping soundly, hoping that the dragon wouldn't reawaken as they crept out of his lair. Making fast and careful work of it, the three men were soon breathing cold winter air once again outside of the cave.

"That was brilliant!" Seth exclaimed, slapping Charlie on the back as a congratulatory gesture. "That was a smart idea there. Very good for being in such a stressful situation."

"Just good pieces of knowledge from two very wise people," breathed Charlie in relief, happy to be out and whole at the same time.

"What would those be?" questioned Seth.

"'The secret to any beast is to know how to calm it,' and, 'Music is magic beyond anything we're capable of,'" Charlie replied, nodding his head.

"That last one is from Dumbledore," recalled Seth with a smile. "Brilliant wizard, he is."

Charlie merely nodded while adjusting his belt and grasping his wand. Looking down the side of the mountain, he took a deep breath before glancing over to Simeon, who stood behind Seth with an expression of deep resentment. With only a shrug towards his roommate, Charlie began to lead the way back down the mountain, having had enough excitement for the day.

- - -

"Thanks so much for that opportunity to see Norbert," thanked Seth, taking Charlie's hand in a vigorous shake of gratitude once they had reached the main building in time for dinner. "It was beyond your call of duty and it was simply fascinating."

"No problem," Charlie said, removing the utility belt and tossing it aside along with his jacket and gloves.

"And sorry about the whole camera..." began Seth, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment for his miscalculation.

"Don't worry about it," scoffed Charlie with a small smile brushing against his cheeks. "You didn't know about that, and we should have told you."

Simeon walked between the two, interrupting their conversation as he grabbed the three equipment belts on the floor and hung them back in their proper place as he gave Seth a sour looking expression as he passed. With a curious look, Seth sought an explanation from Charlie, who only mouthed his regular line in the presence of the subject himself.

"Anyway, best be off," Seth excused himself, heading towards the door with a nod of his head. "I've got to write a letter all about today to my best girl."

Simeon looked up from his work hanging the belts and sorting out the equipment to stare in Seth's direction, his eyebrows raised. "You have a best girl?"

"Of course," Seth laughed as if Simeon had just told the punch line of a very funny joke. He paused a moment to let the chuckle die, wiping a tear away. "Actually, I'm talking about my twin sister, Claire." He turned back to Charlie. "She was a Gryffindor, you know. You're the reason I lost so many Galleons to her, we always had bets on the school Quidditch games."

An extended silence hung over the air of the equipment room, no one knowing precisely what to say for that single moment as Seth waved his farewell and left. Even as the door closed behind him, quiet remained.

**A/N:** New character, and new actor used as a point of reference for him. Seth Johansson, a character from Rachel's mind, is modeled from and if this were a movie he would be played by the highly drool-worthy Jake Gyllenhaal. It is worth noting his casting also came from the fact he's been in a film with Emmy Rossum, who is the appearance inspiration for Bella. Though his sister doesn't appear, she'd be played by Jake's real sister, Maggie.

Hm...I think that's all. Hope you're still captivated.


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Dragon Tears

**Chapter Seventeen: Dragon Tears**

"This place sure is crowded," Charlie commented out loud as he flopped into his chair between Abby and Simeon. "The presentation doesn't even begin for another ten minutes and it's already packed to full capacity by the looks of it."

Charlie glanced around the semi-lit lecture hall, darting his eyes down to the many researchers in the front rows and the dragon keepers around the middle section. Looking around, every seat had an occupant or something on it to reserve it for someone else. Loud chatter and giggles filled the large crowded space, voices and laughter bouncing around the walls to produce many different echoes, which fought in everyone's ears for dominance over the others.

"We were lucky to get these seats, even if they are back row" sighed Charlie, letting his spine relax against the hard plastic seat as his hands went into his pants' pockets, noting that there were few and sparse spaces left for the others trickling in from the front doors. "I've never seen this hall so crowded."

"It's important for everyone to be here," Abby stated plainly, her hands busy in her hair as she brushed it with her fingers into a half-completed ponytail-bun. "Seth has an international reputation with his newspaper column. Him being here is probably good publicity for the reserve. I guess that's why Herb asked for everyone to come if possible."

"Do you know what the presentation is about?" asked Charlie.

"No," said Abby, shaking her head. "I don't think anyone does. I asked Bella if she knew anything, and according to her, Seth has just been locking himself up in an office working on it for the past week and some, night and day."

As if on cue, the front doors to the lecture hall opened and Seth entered briskly, dressed professionally in formal wizardry robes of smoky grey to match his eyes. Some of the researchers in the hall fell silent, as eager students did when a great wise professor entered the room. Their eyes followed him as he made his way to the front of the hall, placing an old fashioned black projector and a dark bag on the table in front of him. In the instant he had put down his equipment, Herb and another man, whom Charlie had never seen before, stood from their front row seats and approached the man of the hour. They shook his hand warmly as they began engaging in an exchange of words as Seth leaned against the table casually, as if he was speaking to old friends.

"Oh, before I forget," Abby interrupted Charlie's thoughts as he diverted his attention towards her, "have you heard from Hagrid or Dumbledore since that dreadful article came out?"

"Dumbledore owled me back personally," he answered with a small grin, "and he assured me that Hagrid wouldn't be sacked under any circumstances, and any resignation from him would be rejected. On top of that, many people share our opinion of Hagrid, so he won't be leaving his work anytime soon."

"That's wonderful," sighed Abby in pure relief, putting one foot on her knee as she leaned back in her place.

Looking back down to the front of the room, Herb in his loud yellow tropical printed shirt and the new man wearing robes of bottle green had resumed their original seats, leaving Seth to set up his projector. Tinkering away with dials and switches and slides, another figure had appeared next to him, hovering over him as he fiddled around with the machine. Glancing over in Simeon's direction, the intense gaze fixated to the front of the room told Charlie only one thing. He knew who was hanging over Seth just as much as Charlie did.

With her normal bright tooth-filled smile decorating her glowing face, Seth clearly knew she was there in an instant. Spinning around to face her, the two immediately shook hands and began to talk as if they had been having a dialogue for some time already. From the very back of the room, what they were saying to each other as their lips moved was inaudible, but no matter what the subject of their conversation was Simeon's gaze did not remove itself from the two standing at the front of the room.

Only a moment had passed before Seth pointed towards his watch, signalling he was to start his lecture soon and that he had to halt their talk in favour of making his final preparations. Without further need for words, Bella's arms wrapped around Seth's shoulders, squeezing him tight before she released her grip around him and scampered back to her seat, front and centre along with a few other researchers. Politely, he smiled and nodded in her direction, making her giggle girlishly in her chair as he went back to tinkering with the projector.

Charlie's brown eyes wandered back to Simeon's glare as his best friend rested his chin on the fingers of his right hand gently as if in deep thought. His dark eyes from beneath his ragged bangs still seemed to shoot daggers towards the front of the room as he inhaled through his flared nostrils. Simeon's gaze only removed itself from Seth to look at Charlie, as muffled laughter began to spill out of his lips in the sheer irony of the moment.

"Vhat is so funny?" Simeon asked, giving his friend a raised eyebrow.

His redheaded companion stopped laughing as Simeon's nearly black eyes bore down into his, seeming to search for the cause of his amusement on his own if an explanation wasn't provided in five seconds or less. Charlie's mind raced for a reason. Clearly he couldn't say that it was funny because he knew that his Bulgarian roommate really did like the pretty Italian researcher even though he endlessly continued to deny it and now hated the English columnist for no other reason other than that he was beginning to interfere in his romantic life, which was supposedly nonexistent ironically enough. His time was running out, and Simeon's gaze became more piercing with every passing second.

"Just a funny joke I remember," blurted out Charlie without a second thought.

"A joke?" Simeon repeated, his thick eyebrow still higher on his forehead than normal.

"Yeah," Charlie nodded with a weak smirk. "You see, a troll, a hag and a leprechaun all go into a bar..."

"I heard that one from Sebastian," Simeon interrupted, continuing to eye his best friend with suspicion. "It's not very funny."

"To each, their own," shrugged Charlie, sinking back into his seat as the remaining lights extinguished and cast the auditorium into darkness much to his delight.

A single spotlight fell on Seth Johansson as the last of the speaking voices hushed and faded into quiet little coughs while those still searching for seats reluctantly took places in the aisles. With a nod, Seth looked out into the darkness around him filled with people hanging on his every word. Stepping out from behind the table, he raised up his head confidently to the audience, everyone silently waiting for him to speak. He already had everyone at his command.

"Hello, everyone," he began at last in his most energetic and friendliest tone of voice, waving to the crowd. "First of all, let me thank you for coming. I know we all have busy schedules, so I'm eternally grateful that you all made the time to come today. I would also like to raise a special word of thanks to my editor of The Healer Herald, Mr Bonham, who flew all the way from London to be here."

Seth's hands came together in applause, causing his spotlight to shift over to the mysterious man in the bottle green robes. The rest of the crowd followed in suite, applauding the special guest as he stood and nodded his head with a small smile. Herb hooted loudly, his cheering more appropriate for a rock concert than an academic presentation. 

"All right, let's get on with this then," Seth pressed forward, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically once the clapping had died down and Mr Bonham had taken his seat. He whipped his wand out of his robe pocket and tapped the projector. Light sprung out from the machine and onto the white screen ahead, producing an incredibly large image for being so close to the front of the room. On the overhead came the picture of a magnificent dark green dragon with glittering golden horns at the top of its head, poised and elegant as it sat atop a mountain range, seeming to reign over the land it stood over.

"The Romanian Longhorn," Abby whispered, gazing at the picture of the rare breed as the images in the projector began to rotate and change its image every few seconds.

"Dragons are the most famous of all magical beasts," Seth began to lecture, his dynamic voice keeping his audience on the edge of their seats in spite of the fact he had only just begun. It was evident he was no amateur at public speaking, his every word captivating the masses. "There is not a child, Muggle or magical, who doesn't know about the dangerous, yet fascinating creature. For ages, wizard kind has experimented on many benefits to magic that dragons have. Thanks to the many determined researchers and alchemists, we know much about the magical properties of a dragon's liver, heart, blood, eggs and horn and have used these ingredients to aide our efforts in discovering cures to the most fatal of magical diseases. This knowledge is unquestionably invaluable to the magical medical community.

"When I was asked to come here just before Christmas, I had some doubts about coming. I'd made myself quite comfortable in Australia, but it was difficult to deny I had gotten all my research there completed and needed a new assignment. Dragons are incredibly interesting creatures, but as one interested in the medical aspect, what more is there to do? Blood, liver and heart have already been experimented on in so many ways before, what more is possible to know about them? I wanted something different, but I wasn't too sure on exactly what. There are other parts to the anatomy of a dragon to experiment upon, of course, but there lies the next problem. In order to harvest such parts, a dragon would need to have died. Dragons frequently outlive wizards, naturally. I think everyone will also agree with me that slaying a dragon for the purpose of research is undoubtedly morally wrong considering the effort to conserve our endangered beasts."

Seth paused there, taking a goblet of water off of his table and drinking deeply, allowing the crowd a moment to swallow and comprehend everything he had just said. The only noise bouncing of the walls was the sound of water sloshing down his oesophagus before he continued with a cleared throat.

"So, I raise the question again, what sort of research could I possibly take upon and make some conclusions about within the next few months without putting harm on a dragon? I must admit, the question racked on me through many weeks of contemplation, and even though I had accepted Mr Bonham's assignment and decided to come here and work amongst the very best in Romania, my mind wasn't completely clear on what it wanted to pursue. It was even less clear on the day I arrived, if that's even remotely possible."

Quiet muffled laughter erupted in the four corners of the auditorium, knowing that the presenter had made a joke as he smiled to the crowd. The rows shook as they tried to keep their laughing down. Simeon, however, remained firm in his seat with a mere scoff, not moving an inch as his arms crossed against his chest.

"I was very fortunate on my first day though," Seth nodded as the quiet giggles subsided. "On arrival, I was taken around the researching wing and was very lucky to have been introduced to a most intelligent researcher."

Charlie didn't even have to look in Simeon's direction to know that his best friend was possibly fuming in his seat, brewing silently as his ears burned with words coming out of Seth's mouth.

"On top of being a great resource for all the images you see before you," Seth gestured to the projector as it flashed a drawn sketch of a dragon's head, the only colour coming from its great yellow eyes, "she managed to introduce me to two very kind and dragon keepers whom were willing to take me up to the caves and actually see a dragon up close. Not many people get that opportunity, to come so close as I did. I was quite the fool to bring my camera and nearly cause my two new friends' deaths..."

"Fool is too kind a vord," Charlie heard Simeon mutter to himself.

"...But regardless, it was one the best experiences I've ever lived to see and without a doubt inspiring. In retreating back to my office with plenty of notes, and one photograph as a reminder of my idiotic moment, I got to work on brainstorming an idea. The task is actually harder than it sounds though. I suppose I had some sort of version of writer's block, only for a researcher.

"It was on a late night last week when I finally came to conclusions over what I wanted to pursue, and I consider myself quite lucky to have had come to some results, considering that I hadn't slept in nearly two days. With all my notes, sketches, archive scrolls and pictures spread out on my desk, everything began to blur in my field of vision. I realised I was so tired that I was producing teary eyes. However, in my state of exhaustion, it hit me. Tears."

With a tap of his wand to the black projector, the machine whirred and skipped ahead to a plain slide, upon which the only thing to grace the screen were two words in Seth's handwriting.

"Dragon tears," Seth read off of the overhead as the lecture hall began to fill with quiet whispers, the researchers conversing with their neighbours over the idea. "Never has been any research put forth on the properties of dragon's tears, though I believe that might be due to the fact no one has ever come up with the idea on how to retrieve them from the mighty beast. However, there is proof that tears can have magical properties. A phoenix's tears, rare as they are, can heal any wound. I believe there is reasonable evidence to conclude that a dragon's tears may have benefits we are unaware of.

"Of course, I have already brought forth the major problem of this idea, and that would be harvesting actual tears to experiment upon. It's not as though we could show a dragon a sad movie and expect it to cry for us."

Another burst of hysteria echoed along the walls at the comment, everyone but a sole dragon keeper trying hard to contain themselves as their sides split in their snickers.

"Though it would be nice if we could do that," Seth smirked at his own joke, fits of giggles still bouncing off of the walls, "I don't think we could procure any resulting tears from that. So the question remains on how exactly one could get tears from a dragon without harming yourself. How could you retrieve tears from a dragon? Someone ask me. Come on. Don't be shy."

"How could you retrieve tears from a dragon, Seth?" responded Bella.

"I'm glad you asked, Bella," said Seth, giving the projector another tap, causing it to switch slides.

A rough pencil sketch popped onto the screen, signed with a copyright symbol at the bottom by Seth Hunter Johansson. The image was of a large sleeping dragon, possibly a Norwegian Ridgeback by the prominent ridges the artist had drawn and coloured in. Beneath its closed eyes was a long metal tube running along the cheek until drawing away into a closed bucket at the bottom of the cave. Around the drawing seemed to be calculations and spells, crossed out and underlined in many places for emphasis and corrections.

"This is how one can retrieve tears from a dragon," proclaimed Seth proudly, the crowd hanging on his words with interest to the apparatus designed in front of them. "Of course, it is still in the preliminary stages of design, but the basic idea is very clear. It is unknown if a dragon can cry, but they do produce teardrop when awakening or sleepy, just as wizards do, as I did the night I thought of this idea. My thought is to harvest tears from sleeping dragons just as they awaken.

"This apparatus is designed to be attached to a sleeping dragon when they are in their deepest stage of sleep. Given the sensitivity of the eye area, it is purposely designed to be light and soft to touch, so the participating creature will not be in discomfort and awaken during the attachment. Furthermore, once the dragon's eyes are opened fully, the contraption is designed to detach itself and shrivel down for later collection."

Seth allowed a pause for some of the researchers and observers before him to discuss it with their neighbours and associates. With the lecture hall alive with hushed sounds, there was a mixture of doubt and awe with the proposed experiment. There was no question on if it was a worthy experiment, but the question of its success was up for debate amongst the individuals.

"Shall we open the floor to questions and comments?" Seth posed the rhetorical questions, flipping on the room lights causing a moment of blindness throughout the room.

One researcher rose from his seat in the third row, his clipboard and a quill in hand as Seth faced him and gestured for him to speak. "Mr Vuong, is it?"

"How do you plan to combat the extreme heat of a dragon's breath, which in turn could evaporate the tears you plan to harvest?" the Vietnamese researcher remarked, smiling deviously at the thought that he had found the flaw in Seth's ideas.

"Well, I have considered that," Seth replied calmly as Bien Vuong took his seat. "As a part of my design, I do plan to implant cooling charms in the pipes, in order to preserve the tear in its liquid form rather than a gas. The retraction of the pipe will also work at keeping the tear intact. Thank you for that."

The hall remained relatively silent, only a few researchers managing to find something about the apparatus to critique. It seemed that Seth had thought of it all, answering every one of the questions and comments without any form of hesitation lacing his words. In no time at all, the lecture hall dispersed, everyone flooding out with the idea of dragon tears in their minds, nodding their heads and congratulating Seth on their way out.

"I have to admit, that sounds like a pretty interesting study," Abby commented as she stretched out her stiff legs after sitting through the speech.

"We'll have to see how he gets results from it though," Charlie shrugged. "Would be interesting. I've never heard of that sort of stuff before."

Simeon remained silent, waiting as the people in front of them filed out the lecture hall, watching the front of the room where Bella was speaking to Seth. Once the pathway was clear, he headed straight towards the two with Charlie following along shortly behind.

"No, you really did brilliantly, Seth," Bella beamed with pride. "That had to be one of the best presentations I've ever sat through."

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you," Seth shot her own praise back at her. "You're the one who helped me find all those pictures in the archives. Knowing you were out there in the audience rooting for me helped too."

"Oh, stop now," giggled Bella, slapping his arm lightly. "You had everyone captivated and you know it. Oh, hi Simeon."

Standing beside Bella and Seth, Simeon had waited for the two to notice him as his hands buried themselves in his pockets. His eyes were kept beneath their bangs, unmoving and unflinching until Bella had addressed him.

"Good afternoon," Simeon greeted courteously, bowing his head slightly.

"That was a great presentation, Seth," Charlie held his hand out for the man of the hour. "You seemed to have thought that one out well."

"Thanks so much, Charlie," he smiled gratefully back, taking Charlie's hand. "I couldn't have done it without you and Simeon, really. The trip you took me on was the inspiration point, really. Invaluable piece of observation."

"You are starting right away?" Simeon eyed Seth narrowly; seeming to hope Seth would lock himself in an office for another few weeks on end.

"Merlin, it's the last thing on my mind now. All I've done is work on that project and presentation for over a week now," Seth laughed heartily. "I really could use something to take my mind off of work for a change."

"Well, there's always the lounge," Bella pointed out. "I'm sure you can find a relaxing recreational activity in there."

"Sounds great," sighed Seth, turning his attention towards Bella again. "Are you up for a game of charmed checkers?"

"Actually, I have some things to finish before dinner," said Bella, her normal smile curving slightly downward in disappointment. "But I'm sure one of the boys, or Abby, will play. Simeon, you're a master of charmed checkers, aren't you? I've seen Simeon play and he's an absolutely brilliant player. I don't think he's ever lost a game." 

"What say you to a quick game, Simeon?" Seth asked, his eyes glinting towards the Bulgarian.

Simeon looked towards Seth with a scowl, and back to Bella's beaming smile. Her sparkling eyes bore into him, working their charming glow into him before he looked back to Seth with contempt.

"You are on."

- - -

The board was set up with a quick wand wave in the same second Simeon and Seth walked into the lounge with Abby and Charlie in tow, the pair curious to see how the game would play out. The men took their seats opposite each other, Simeon on the black side and Seth with red pieces. Abby and Charlie stood on the sides opposite each other, choosing to not choose sides by standing behind the opponents.

"Go," Simeon commanded briefly, not meeting Seth's grey gaze by looking down at the board game.

Seth pondered his first move for a moment, making a fast slide of his piece with his index finger only to have Simeon react in a split second to make it his turn again. Inching another forward, his opposition quickly had his black circle move to retaliate, giving Seth almost no time at all to think.

"You're quick with this," commented Seth, immediately impressed with Simeon's speed with charmed checkers.

"It makes the game interesting," responded Simeon, still not looking up from the game board.

Abby looked to Charlie, her pupils gesturing to Simeon direction. Her friend could only shrug, though judging by the concentration and speed Simeon was placing forth, there was a larger prize than just victory over Seth on his mind.

The game pressed on, Seth taking his time while Simeon's fingers couldn't move fast enough to his pieces into the order he wanted. With every game bit Simeon took, Seth took one right back, the game becoming completely even as their peasants rose to the rank of kings and fought gallantly for their colour.

It had reached a point of deadlock, each player having two pieces on the board, lined up completely straight on the diagonal. Normally, if Charlie were opposite him, Simeon would have called a truce, as the game could literally go on forever at the point, the same shifts happening over and over again. With Seth on the other side of the board, however, he wasn't ready to back down. Instead, a bead of sweat dripped from his forehead and onto the wooden platform as he strategically moved his inner piece only to have Seth move the outer to counter him.

"I think you've tied the game, you know," Abby pointed out the obvious, seeing Simeon perspire.

"Not quite," disagreed Seth with a smile to the female spectator, running his hand through his dark hair. "I used to play this with my sister, Claire, all the time. It's just a matter of waiting until your opponent slips up and taking advantage of their mistake."

"Exactly," Simeon nodded, his eyes still focused completely on the board.

"Okay then," shrugged Abby, growing tired of watching the stalemate showdown game and walking over to the couch, picking up an abandoned newspaper to read along the way.

As soon as Abby had flopped into her seat with her nose buried in the latest Romanian wizard news, Bella walked into the room. Coming up from behind Seth, she quickly tapped him on the shoulder, making him tear his eyes away from the game and look right into her hazel orbs.

"Hi Bella," he greeted warmly, his words catching Simeon's attention and making him snap up from his game stance. "Come to play the winner? I warn it could take a while."

"Not exactly," she said quietly, her lips pursing together nervously. "I'm so sorry to interrupt your boys' game and all, but I was in the middle of writing something out in my latest observations, and I was wondering, since you're such a great writer, if you could proofread it for me."

Bella's eyes pleaded with Seth's grey gaze, giving him a look he couldn't refuse. "Of course."

"Oh, thank you," Bella beamed, hugging Seth around his shoulders.

"Would you take a rain check on the game, Simeon?" Seth asked politely. "We can play another round some other time, a fresh game. I must commend you though, you are an excellent opponent."

Simeon had no time to respond as Bella took Seth's arm in hers and led him out the door. Charlie looked down at his friend, not knowing exactly what to say to his friend when only a few hours ago he had laughed at the idea of his love triangle. Now it seemed that Simeon was on the far end of it as he wiped the game board clean in one swift arm movement, stood from his seat and walked out of the room.

**A/N:** Notes...notes...the joke Charlie begins to tell before being cut off is the same one Dumbledore started in one of the books. I can't recall exactly but to my understanding it was book 4.

And now the meaning of my title being "Dragon Tears" is revealed! It's Seth's study.

And checkers games can go on forever like that until someone screws up, in case no one has played before. My brother and I have done that, and eventually one of us just slips.

Hope you're liking. Read, review, enjoy!


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Magnetism, Mermaids an

Teacher123: Always good to hear your enthusiasm.

- - -

**Chapter Eighteen: Magnetism, Mermaids and Mail**

_THE FEBRUARY HARVEST: OBTAINING THE FIRST TEAR_

_By Seth Hunter Johansson_

_I write this article with mixed feelings, as I have both good news and bad news to report from Romania. In terms of the good news, I am pleased to say that through my fifth redesign of the tear collecting apparatus, the first tear from a dragon has been obtained from Chinese Fireball. With the invaluable help from the dragon keepers here, the first tear collected brings my research one step closer to reaching the final destination._

_However, the apparatus is once again, in need of adjustments. While a tear was harvested as planned, there is always work to be done in making the design as functional as possible. While the Chinese Fireball did produce results, there are still nine other dragons to collect from. The task of collection is far from being completed, and the winter months are drawing ever closer to their close. Time is becoming an enemy._

_It is no doubt a frustration I would like to be relieved of, but in the words of my father, Healer Mattew Johansson, "The path towards discovery was not laced with easy obstacles." I try to remind myself of his words, as there are few I find wiser than he. His words of timeless wisdom keep me optimistic though I cannot deny the help and encouragement I receive from co-workers and friends I have made here on the Romanian International Dragon Reserve. They have been the kindest and most supporting bunch I have ever come across, and this journey towards unlocking medical mysteries would only be half as enjoyable without them._

"Oh, he's such a good writer," Bella sighed contently as she walked through the hallways of the researcher wing with the latest borrowed edition of The Healer Herald, being showered with pink heart-shaped confetti as she passed beneath a cupid decoration hanging from the ceiling.

It was a few days before Valentine's Day, but the reserve had been decked out for the past week courtesy once again of Herb and Nisha. Streamers hung in twists and twirls along the walls while hanging figurines of the famous child archer dangled above those who roamed the corridors. Posters had been pasted against the doorways to the private researcher offices, frequently bearing passionate lovers kissing feverously as if the world would end the next day. Normally, Bella would pause and look at all the posters covering the usually white naked walls to see who was kissing whom, but eager to reach her destination, she skipped quicker than normal and continued her rapid pace towards Seth's normal office at the end of the hall.

Coming to the end of the corridor and a door left slightly ajar, Bella didn't hesitate to walk right in, quietly entering so to not disturb the normal occupant of the room. Noticing his back turned from her, hard at work at the desk facing the left wall, she crept silently behind him, and politely tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hello Seth," she beamed brightly as her index finger contacted with his shoulder blade twice, making her co-worker glance up from his notebook. "Just borrowed your latest published article from Abby. Excellent as always."

"Thank you," said Seth warmly, putting his quill into the inkwell and turning to face Bella.

His co-worker snapped back in surprise as he turned to meet her. Unlike the polished presentation appearance from only a few weeks before, Seth seemed much sloppier and scruffier to Bella. He wore an old grubby grey t-shirt and jeans, both holding remainders of what looked like Nisha's curry as well as looking as though he had pulled them from beneath a bed by their wrinkles. Uncombed hair and growing stubble on his chin, matched it as perfectly as a puzzle. But eerier than all those factors that could be cured with a shower, was Seth also seemed thinner and paler to Bella. It was as though he had the complete looks of a slob, seeming to have aged by years on mere appearance.

"Are you all right, Seth?" Bella asked upon seeing Seth in such a state, unable to ignore his odd appearance.

"Yes," he answered briefly, giving her an odd look. "Why?"

"You look different," Bella shook her head, not buying his disregard for his own dishevelment. "Are you ill? Have you had anything to eat?"

"I'm quite healthy and nourished," argued Seth with a laugh. "I can assure you that. I am a Healer by original profession."

"You're worrying me," Bella blurted out honestly, not being able to hold back on the emotion that bubbled up from the pit of her stomach. She dropped herself to Seth's eye level. "Look at you, you're a mess. Are you sure you feel all right?"

"It's all right, Bella," assured Seth, taking Bella's hand in his. "I guess I've forgotten to shower for a few days what with work and all." He looked down at his clothes. "And forgotten about laundry while I was at it."

One look into the stern glare from Bella's eyes told him immediately she wasn't taking his mere forgetting to clean himself story. It was an intense look, serious and commanding, mixed with fear as well. There was no denying that there was pure concern for him in her eyes, pleading him silently.

"I won't lie, Bella," Seth sighed deeply, sitting up a bit straighter in his chair. "I've got a lot on my mind right now, and it's been a stressful few days."

The nod of her head told him that she had finally accepted his excuses. Her hands rested on his, stroking his skin gently and spreading warmth into his cold body. One palm came up to his face, touching his rough cheek as she ran her fingers across it.

"Would you like to talk about it?" she asked sweetly. "Sometimes just talking helps. I know it helps me."

A silence filled the space between them, every molecule freezing as if time had stopped while Bella waited for some kind of response from her friend. Offering a weak smile, Seth's hands began to tremble, a certain hesitation transferring from his shivering body as he withdrew one hand from beneath her grip and placed it on top of the fingers glazing his face. Bella drew herself closer to Seth, waiting for him to speak, knowing there was something for her to hear.

"It's about a girl," he finally said. "A woman, who I have fallen in love with. And I want to know if she feels the same way I do before I lose my chances with her."

Bella squeezed Seth's hand caringly, shuffling a bit closer to him so she came nearer to his grey eyes. Brushing her hair back behind her ear before returning her hand to sit on Seth's, she nodded thoughtfully with a small smile.

"Go on."

- - -

"Best thing about Valentine's Day, chocolate everything," Charlie declared forcefully, bringing his fork down into a chocolate chip pancake.

"It makes up for heart-shaped pink everything," added Simeon, gnawing on a chocolate dipped strawberry.

"You know, I don't really mind that," said Abby as she watched a pair of pale glittering fairies waltz along a crystal platter on the table they were eating at. "I think sharing a room with Bella has completely numbed me to seeing the colour so much."

Charlie snorted a laugh as he twirled an entire pancake onto his fork, shovelling the whole thing into his mouth while Abby and Simeon were occupied with the rain of confetti showering on them from a nearby cupid decoration. As Abby looked up from brushing the bits of paper from her hair, her green eyes popped out of their sockets at the amount of food entering Charlie's mouth.

"Charlie Weasley, slow down," she scolded while looking about to see if anyone would agree with here. "You're going to choke."

"Yes," nodded Simeon with a small smirk. "That is vhy he eats in the infirmary."

In the surprise of Simeon's words, chunks of food slipped from Charlie's mouth and down the wrong pipe, causing a violent cough. Covering with a napkin, he sputtered and spat out his breakfast, glaring evilly towards his best friend once his face resurfaced from the linen.

"What did I tell you?" Abby gave him a cheeky grin before taking a reasonable bite from a heart shaped scone.

"Never you mind," shot back Charlie as he began to cut a chocolate chip pancake into smaller pieces.

"Hello all, mind if I have this seat?" a voice from behind Abby came.

Simeon and Charlie looked up while Abby turned her head to glance over her shoulder. Standing there was Bella carrying her breakfast tray, dressed from head to toe in pale pink and white, seeming to match the decorations hanging around the mess hall perfectly.

"Not at all," Abby responded right away, shuffling over on the long bench to make room for the researcher.

"Thank you," beamed Bella graciously as she sat down delicately. "Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Such a lovely day, isn't it?"

"Yes," Simeon nodded quickly, glancing around the mess hall for Bella's usual grey-eyed mealtime companion. "So, vhere is Seth?"

"I don't know," shrugged Bella as she lifted her spoon and plunged it into a cup of chocolate pudding, stirring it about. "I haven't seen him today, actually."

"Oh," said Simeon, seeming interested in the little fact.

"I suppose he's busy," suggested Bella, bringing her spoonful of chocolate up to her lips and letting the pudding slide across her tongue before she swallowed it with a sigh. "Got a lot on his mind and all, you know. Wouldn't be surprised if he were cooped up in his office today, writing or doing his research. Perhaps we'll see him later in the day."

Charlie shot a look across the table to Abby, who diverted her eyes away and smiled. There was no denying Simeon's hidden delight behind his eyes and bangs in the idea that Seth was out of the picture on a day dedicated to romance. His absence that day seemed to almost make up the past weeks where he had barely left the side of the Italian researcher. Bella didn't seem to notice it as she scraped her plastic cup for another spoon of pudding, but to the two silent observers, they could read Simeon's tone to know he was pleased even if it didn't show on his face.

"This is delicious," Bella proclaimed, tapping the rim of her cup with her spoon. "Have you tried some of the pudding Simeon? I know you like chocolate. You should try some."

"Happy Valentine's Day Bella!" another voice entered the conversation before Simeon could part his lips and answer.

A bouquet of yellow roses popped up in front of Bella's hazel eyes, attached to a hand and arm extending to the face of Seth hovering over her. Her hands grasping her chocolate pudding released and sent the plastic cup onto her tray, the thick chocolate seething out slowly. Seth lowered himself to Bella's eye level, carefully moving the flowers from his hands into hers.

"Perhaps those should be pink instead, to match your outfit," Seth suggested with a piercing perfect grin.

"Oh, Seth, they're beautiful as they are," Bella gushed, her cheeks flushing red as she looked at the bunch of roses. "This is so sweet of you."

"Hey, you've been such a great friend and more to me ever since I arrived," Seth rationalised his present with a large smile. "This is the least I could do for you after all you've done for me."

"This is so nice," continued Bella, not paying much attention to his reason for getting her such a gift. "Thank you."

Using one hand to pull Seth close, Bella planted her lips onto Seth's smooth shaven cheek, giving him a small peck. Abby and Charlie directed their looks to Simeon, while he could only put his eyes down onto his plate.

"I'd best go," Seth excused himself from the crowd, straightening up to his full height and smoothening out the wrinkles in his clean navy sweater. "I have many things to do today. I just wanted to give you those flowers and wish you all a Happy Valentine's."

"See you later," said Bella, waving goodbye as Seth vanished from the mess hall, out the doors and towards his usual office.

Playing with the flower petals, and smelling the sweet fresh scent wafting from them, Bella barely noticed the chocolate pudding that spilt onto her tray as she sighed contently.

"Looking forward to the Second Task in the Triwizard Tournament next week?" Charlie tried to move the stagnant conversation. "Herb said we're going to get radio coverage just like last time, live from..."

Charlie didn't have the chance to finish his sentence as a cupid decoration fell from the ceiling, landing on his head. Bouncing from his red hair, the baby archer descended onto his lower arm, poking him with the tip of the arrow from his bow before lying still on his breakfast plate.

"Are you all right, Charlie?" Bella asked, dropping Seth's present and picking up the inanimate cupid from the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine," assured Charlie, rubbing the spot on his arm where cupid's arrow had struck him quite literally.

Bella nodded her head, holding the symbol of the day in her hands. "I guess I should put this little guy back where he belongs."

Turning to her left to rise from her seat, the cheerful cherub child facing in the same direction, the arrow poised in his hand struck her neighbour's upper arm, scraping it right across. Abby winced as the dull point met her skin, her left hand quickly covering the small scratch.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Bella apologised quickly, seeing the white mark on Abby's arm. "I'm sorry. Are you hurt?"

"It's fine," Abby said with a gritted smile, not making a move while Bella still had the little cupid weapon in her hands.

Using her wand, Bella floated the tiny archer back onto its hook on the ceiling, allowing it to swing from the sky as if flying over Charlie's head once again. Picking up her yellow flowers, she took a long whiff from them and looked to her small group of friends.

"I'd better go put these in water," she sighed with satisfaction. "I'll see you later."

She turned to exit the mess hall while Charlie and Abby continued to rub their arrow wounds, before she turned back with an odd look on her face, torn between laughter and irony. Returning to the table, she paused, seeming to think of proper words to say before she said them for once.

"Actually, it's quite funny," she said, a smile reaching her lips and spreading from cheek to cheek. "You were both struck by cupid's arrow. Perhaps today is your day for romance at long last."

With a raise of her eyebrow accompanied with a giggle, she turned and left the mess hall, leaving the two friends to look at each other, green irises meeting brown eyes. They stared for a moment, tension becoming thick enough to cut, before they could hold it no longer. They had to laugh.

- - -

"Has she mentioned anything about having a relationship with him?" Charlie questioned Abby as they walked towards the lounge on a late Wednesday morning, the day of the Second Task. "I mean that's something she would mention. Fairly significant if they were dating and all."

"She speaks of Seth fondly and frequently," Abby explained truthfully to her own knowledge, "but she only refers to him as a close personal friend. She's hasn't explicitly said they're an item, and yet they seem to spend a lot of their time together."

"What's your opinion of that?" asked Charlie, crossing his arms over his red and gold Gryffindor sweater adorned with a pro-Potter badge courtesy of his twins brothers, Fred and George.

"It's possible, but I won't believe it until it comes from one of their own mouths," Abby shook her head, her ponytail swinging back and forth as she held onto one of her shoulders. "Is Simeon coming to the Second Task announcements?"

"I think so," replied Charlie with a sigh. "Bella probably won't go, which means Seth won't either. Not only that, we have a bet of ten Galleons, Harry Potter verses Viktor Krum, riding on this task."

Abby merely nodded as the approached the lounge, the room already packed with supporters of all three schools, gathering around the wireless radio sitting atop the unlit hearth in armchairs, couches and folding seats. Finding a few spare folding chairs amongst fellow Hogwarts alumni bearing their Hufflepuff banners and pins, they took their places just as Herb fiddled around with the knobs on the wireless in his attempt to find the frequency.

"Almost there," Herb grunted, a white noise coming through to everyone's anticipation. "Just a little more."

"Remember our bet, Veasley," the voice of Simeon came from behind Charlie, taking the folding seat next to him so he sat between his two best friends. "Ten Galleons for who performs better."

"Just have your money bag ready," responded Charlie with a confident smirk.

A loud sputter came from the radio, causing a hush over the room. Herb moved away from the wireless, inching away as the fuzzy noise faded to give way to the booming voice Charlie recognized from the Qudditch World Cup as belonging to the cheerful Ludo Bagman.

"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One...two...three!"

An eruption of cheers and the blast of a whistle came over the wireless followed with the faint sound of splashing water. It was barely audible to everyone's confusion, everyone sending stares to their companions as if to ask silently what was going on miles away from them. With the applause giving way to hoots of hard laughter, it was only all the more puzzling.

"What's going on?" Abby finally vocalised her bewilderment.

The chuckles and catcalls over the wireless finally began to quiet, allowing the voice of their announcer to take over again. "Now that all the champions have submerged, we can now inform you of the task they are facing in the Black Lake. Each champion has something being held at the bottom of the lake by the merpeople, who have kindly obliged to participation in protecting the precious things until the champions arrive. Their task is to collect what was taken from them within the limit of an hour while fighting off any obstacle in their way."

A murmur of noise spread across everyone sitting in the lounge, whispers of the task at hand and who would be successful beneath the depths of the lake. Strategies were exchanged between the chairs as the wireless fell silent, no news to emerge until the champions resurfaced.

"Per'aps ze Bubble-'ead Charm will be used?" suggested Sharlene Belleville as she twisted a section of her blonde hair between her fingers. "Eet is a very simple spell."

"But they don't teach that spell until fifth year Charms," muttered Charlie. "I wonder what Harry is using."

"Hello, what did we miss?" the all too familiar voice came up from beside Simeon.

The trio of Abby, Charlie and Simeon turned their heads towards the origin of the voice, coming face to face with Seth and Bella. Shuffling into the remaining folding seats, Bella took her place next to Simeon, and Seth next to her.

"We were looking at some of the new tears Seth collected with the improved apparatus beneath the microscopes and completely forgot about the time," Bella said politely, placing her hands neatly in her lap and crossing her ankles in a ladylike manner. "Have we missed anything good, Simeon?"

"Not really," answered Simeon, shifting uncomfortably so his back was slightly straighter in his seat.

"They only just started not that long ago," Charlie finished explaining in lieu of Simeon. "And no real news yet."

"Well, good luck to your Durmstrang champion," said Bella, patting Simeon's hand as it rested on his knee, giving him a warm smile. "I guess that's the nice thing about Pulitobevanda not partaking in the tournament, I can root for everyone's champion."

A sudden sound on the wireless caused a silence in the lounge, everyone paying attention as the sound of splashing water, loud gasps and muddled voices filled the air. The champions hadn't been at the task for that long, and it didn't seem possible to conclude one had already completed it.

"Beauxbatons champion, Fleur Delacour, is unable to continue the task," the voice on the wireless radio announced.

The ex-Beauxbatons students let out a long moan, throwing down their badges and hats to the floor in frustration. A few of the French left the room in disgrace, not wanting to know the outcome now that their champion had been eliminated. Everyone else held tight, waiting to hear if someone else would emerge from the water in failure.

Time passed quickly as those tuning into the radio waited patiently. Looking at his watch, Charlie noted the hour allotted had passed, meaning that the three remaining champions were outside the time limit now. That would have them all deducted in points, but more to his concern was the safety of the youngest and most inexperienced champion. He had stunned everyone on the first task, but there was no telling if his luck would run short this time around.

Splashing came over the radio again, everyone jumping to the edge of their seats as the crowd cheered and applauded. "Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory, is the first to emerge successful. He has retrieved Miss Cho Chang."

The Hufflepuff alumni roared in cheers, jumping from their seats and hugging each other at the news of their champion coming out first and successful. Black and yellow confetti flew into the air, covering everyone in the official Hufflepuff colours while balloons in the same colour rained down from the sky. The cheers only halted as another splashing emitted from the radio and hushed everyone once again.

"Viktor Krum of Durmstrang is second to arrive with Miss Hermione Granger."

Durmstrang students leapt from the chairs, hollering at the top of their lungs and punching the air with their fists. The yellow and black coloured balloons popped all at once, everyone becoming temporarily deaf as the shards fell to the ground in massive heaps. In their place, many small red and black fireworks exploded above their heads, colouring the sky in glitter.

"Did you hear that, Simeon?" Bella clapped graciously for the happy Durmstrang alumni, noting that her Bulgarian neighbour hadn't jumped from his seat and was quietly applauding next to her. "Aren't you proud?"

"Harry is still down there," concluded Charlie, a sense of panic running through his mind. "He hasn't come back yet."

"He's probably just on his way up," Abby assured, holding Charlie's hand tightly.

A few minutes passed, the fireworks from Durmstrang still going off over their heads. With every passing minute, Abby's grip on Charlie grew tighter, her own worry becoming evident by her white knuckles. It compelled Charlie to squeeze back, hoping it would reassure her, and return to him as well.

The sound of splashing at long last made them perk up, gasping and applause coming from the crowd over the radio. There were sounds of many people rushing into water, a many mutterings before Ludo Bagman finally remembered to announce it. "Harry Potter has come with the remaining hostages, Mr Ronald Weasley and Miss Gabrielle Delacour."

"He got them both!" shouted Charlie, turning to look at Abby, who was only an inch away from his own face, close enough to feel her warm breath. He removed his hand from her loosened grip, ready to wrap his arms around her in a victory hug.

"Wasn't that your little brother?" Abby asked, suddenly realising she recognised the name that had been announced before Charlie could embrace her.

The smile suddenly faded from Charlie's face, his legs rushing him out of the folding chair so he was at the side of the radio, listening closely to the little bits of voices that were being transmitted. Over the hoorays and celebration over the final champion reaching the surface, he listened intently.

"Gerroff Percy, I'm all right!"

"That's Ron."

- - -

Abby closed the door to her room quietly, kicking off her shoes and stretching out her stiffened arms as she walked in. Pulling her Gryffindor coloured jumper off, she quickly threw it to the bottom of her closet and grabbed a bright lilac sweater from its hanger to replace it on her body. With a sigh, she undid her ponytail, letting her hair fall along her back as she glanced at the many pictures that hung over her desk, as Bella had insisted on helping her form a wall of pictures of her own.

Rummaging through the desk drawers, she looked about for her latest copy of The Healer Herald. She was almost certain Bella had returned it, but amidst all her rolls of parchment and older editions of the medical journal, it seemed to be like finding a Snitch amongst Galleons.

A tapping noise at the window alerted her attention towards an old looking tawny owl perched on the sill, rapping at the glass with its beak. Abandoning her mission to find reading material, she went to the window and thrust the latch open. The owl took to the air again; flapping its wings while holding out its leg, where an envelope addressed to Miss Abigail Ridges was clasped in its claws.

"Don't you want to come in and rest?" Abby asked the tawny bird as her hand reached out and grabbed the letter in the owl's feet.

The second her hand had grasped the letter the owl took off into the open February skies, disappearing beyond the building. Curiously, Abby watched the horizon, wondering where the bird had gone off to in such a hurry.

Looking back to the letter in her hand, she tore open the envelope, puzzled as to who would write to her and address her as Abigail. Even her own mother simply wrote Abby on everything. Her full first name only normally appeared on official documents, birth certificate, passport and other such government items.

Letting the envelope fall to her feet, she opened up the folded letter before dropping it as well. Written in slanted cursive letters and blue ink, she recognized the hand that had clearly penned it. Her hands leapt to her mouth, covering the shocked expression as her eyes stared down at the dreaded piece of parchment.

Slowly, she bent down and picked up the letter, taking large deep breaths as she sat on her plaid bedcovers read it carefully over. It wasn't a particularly long or complicated piece, but it compelled her to read it twice regardless before she rested her hands in her lap, completely frozen for all of a second.

"No," she shook her head confidently, rising and picking up the discarded envelope. "No, I will not look back."

Snapping her wand towards her desk, the bottom drawer whisked open, and the letter and envelope plunged in without a second glance. Another swish of the magical stick shut it with a quick slam as Abby stared at it with the glimmer of red-hot anger in her eyes, which slowly faded and returned to their normal calm green.

"I can't go back," she whispered to herself, tucking her wand back into the pocket of her pants. "You can't change the past."

Looking down below the chair of her desk, the latest copy of The Healer Herald was stuck beneath the leg of the seat. Pulling it out from its imprisonment beneath a much stronger force, Abby quickly walked out of her room, placing the contents of the letter far from her mind as she dipped into the articles about the success of the St. Mungo's Sickles for Scrofungulus fundraiser.

**A/N:** And the plot thickens evermore.

And again, the Triwizard Tournament is a background activity, only through the eyes of a distant observer...all the way in another country.

Hope I haven't lost your attention yet. Still some to cover!


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Herbert's Favour

**teacher123:** Thank you for the compliment. I believe Charlie was described as wishing to attend to more the Tournament in the books. Always a pleasure.

**An Insane Oxymoron:** Thank you for your kindness. I'm glad you're liking the story.

- - -

**Chapter Nineteen: Herbert's Favour**

The crisp cold March morning air swirled through Charlie's mane of red hair, swishing past his jacket and scarf as he peered through the cracks in the wall of the owlery, a small wooden hut-like feature on the roof of the reserve. With a brown wrapped parcel tucked beneath his arm, he entered the hut to find many owls still asleep from their nocturnal activities, the ground littered with the remains of the midnight hunt. Looking about for an early bird, a small hoot alerted him to a brown owl that seemed eager for something to do on that cold lazy morning while his regular companions had a lie in.

"Hello," Charlie greeted the enthusiastic owl in a soft whisper, trying not to disturb the other sleeping feathered friends. "How do you feel about flying to Scotland for me?"

The owl hesitated to respond, his eyes blinking as it looked at the strange redhead fellow and the package beneath his arm from the perch.

"It's my little brother's birthday present, if that makes any difference," added Charlie, showing the thinking owl the small brown parcel wrapped in string.

With an agreeable hoot, the owl had accepted the mission. Flying down from the perch and onto Charlie's arm, he held out a leg so the parcel could be attached. Lovingly, Charlie stroked the wings of the beautiful creature, smiling pleasantly.

"Thank you, so much," nodded Charlie, taking an orange card with the emblem of the Chudley Cannons on it out of his jacket pocket. Opening it, he quickly scanned over what he had written the previous night.

_Dear Ron,  
Happy Birthday and Best Wishes on your Fifteenth. You're only fifteen for a year, so enjoy it. And get it off with a good start; I've enclosed Chocolate Cauldrons for that part.  
Love from your brother,  
Charlie  
P.S. Can you believe only fourteen years ago I helped mum change your nappies?_

With a small laugh, he shoved the card into the envelope and tucked it beneath the strings on the package. Quite possibly Ron would turn red on reading that little ending line, but anticipating that reaction was the fun in writing that part. Tying the parcel to the owl's leg, the bird took flight, circling around the small hut to get a feel for the new weight attached to him before taking off into the cold morning air.

Shivering as he exited the owlery, Charlie quickly ran towards the stairs leading back inside, looking forward to spend his morning lying about in the warm lounge and just relaxing with a newspaper on the latest Quidditch news before needing to awaken Simeon before lunch and their afternoon shift. Removing his scarf and coat as he entered the heated building once again, he wandered down the many flights of stairs towards the first floor, jumping down every time he only had three left to speed his pace.

Finally making his way past the entrance hall, he looked towards the squashy purple armchairs in incomplete squares around a coffee table. His brown eyes caught sight of a candy bowl in the centre of the coffee table, holding many wrapped sugary sweets. Not holding any resistance, he made the detour, walking towards the tray of treats, throwing his coat and scarf over the back of a chair. His fingers hovered over the bright wrappers; his mind trying to decide on which one he wanted before concluding that the red cherry marked one was too alluring.

Popping the round ball of candy into his mouth, he let the fruitful flavour melt on his tongue, his taste buds entering euphoria. He fell back into the chair behind him, letting his eyes wander about the room. Looking slightly to his right, towards the yellow painted wall bearing a photograph of what seemed to be a field of flowers, he noticed that he was being watched.

Standing up straight, he cleared his throat, swallowing the small piece of candy he had been savouring gently. The young woman sitting across from him didn't flinch, or remove her cerulean stare from him. She merely smiled with her tight pink lips and flipped her shoulder golden blonde hair with her clean French manicured nails. Charlie took a few steps towards her, stopping about a foot away as her azure pupils followed his every move.

"Hello," he said, trying to be friendly as he gave her a small wave of his hand. "Can I help you or anything?"

The young woman didn't respond, merely blinking with her long eyelashes towards Charlie as if confused. She crossed her legs at the knees, which raised the hem of her short sapphire blue skirt and showed off her long white legs, which ended at her matching high heels.

"Um...do you speak English?" asked Charlie, keeping his eyes on her face.

Still no reply came from the woman, in any language. She remained quiet, scratching the bottom of her lip.

"Guess not," Charlie said to himself, giving the back of his neck a scratch before moving on to his next question. "What language do you speak?"

The woman opened her white Valentino purse, delicately rummaging though it slowly so she didn't break her long fingernails. Pulling out a pocket mirror, she checked her complexion, turning to the sides to make sure each cheek was even while completely ignoring the fact she was being spoken to.

"Do you speak at all?" Charlie questioned again, not understanding why the woman was making no effort to communicate as she tucked the mirror back into her expensive bag and turned her eyes back to him.

"Charlie," he finally resorted to primitive crude signing as he put his palm to his chest. "I...help...you...?"

"Ah, here she is!" Herb's American accent popped out from behind Charlie as his finger was pointed towards the young woman sitting in the light purple armchair.

Charlie moved aside as Herb rushed forward. The young woman stood to full height, which was about par with Abby's, and held out her arms to Herb.

"Hello Uncle Herb," she said as clear as a bell in an American accent, surprising Charlie.

"Giselle, Giselle, you've grown so much again," announced Herb, patting her on the back as he gave his relative a hug. "And look at you, looking so professional. Changed your hair again, I see."

"Thank you for noticing," chimed Giselle, twirling around to model the matching blue jacket and skirt set that accented the slimness of her body.

"Well, I trust you can get her settled now," said another woman that had followed Herb into the hall, who looked as though she could be Giselle's mother by the same golden blonde hair, blue eyes, and a similar suit in pale yellow. With a nod of her head, she walked towards Herb and Giselle. "I'll see you in a month or so."

"You know you have to come back next month anyway, Ingrid," Herb laughed, giving the older woman a wink of his eye.

"Just owl me the date, and I'll try my very best to be here, little brother," the woman smiled, quickly rushing towards the door with a fur coat in hand. "Must go, my ride awaits."

"Have a good flight back to Boston," Herb called out to his sister, waving as she exited the door, accidentally leaving it open as a cold draft came in, making Charlie shiver.

Herb hurried to shut the door, rubbing his arms for warmth as he went, and leaving Giselle to smile sweetly in Charlie's direction. Adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder, Charlie straightened up, shoving his hands into his pockets as he stared back at her.

"You do speak English," he half-smiled, nodding his head torn between amusement and frustration with her little silence game. "You let me act like a fool."

"It was fun watching you try to communicate," she replied with a giggling smirk, taking a few steps towards him with an outstretched hand. "Giselle Leblanc."

"Charlie Weasley," Charlie held out his hand and shook it firmly twice.

"I will remember that," Giselle replied, letting her hand graze the side of Charlie's head, running her long slender fingers through his mob of hair. "You can assure, Mr Weasley."

"Oh good, you've met my niece here, Charlie," Herb exclaimed from across the room, making Giselle remove her hand from its stroke across red hair. Herb marched across the room, quickly wrapping his arm around his niece's shoulder proudly, much to Giselle's surprise by the shock in her eyes. "She's going to be working in the office with me for a little while, get some good old fashion work experience."

"Joy," Giselle sang happily, though her eyes told a different story as she shot Charlie a look of disgust.

"Hey, maybe you could show Giselle around, eh Charlie?" Herb suggested giving Charlie a pat on the back hard enough to make the piece of cherry candy come up from his stomach.

"Sure," Charlie choked with a small cough as Herb beamed brightly between his niece and his employee.

"I'll leave you to that then," Herb nodded, pinching Giselle's cheek lovingly. Giving her beloved kin another firm pat on the back, he grabbed a few powder pink suitcases marked with the swirling silver initials of G.L. and walked off down the corridor. "Just bring her back to Nisha and my house afterwards. Undoubtedly your Auntie Nisha will want to see you again. She baked a cake when she found out you were coming."

Herb disappeared around a corner, leaving Giselle free to roll her eyes and unbutton the jacket of her suit. Charlie raised an eyebrow as her rolling blue irises met with his look.

"Don't get me wrong, I adore my uncle," defended Giselle right away, reading the look in his face immediately, "I just can't believe he still treats me as though I'm seven-years-old. I passed that age quite some time ago."

Charlie merely nodded as Giselle removed her sapphire jacket to reveal a white tank top beneath it. Tightly fitting to her body, it was even more evident as to how slender she was as it ended above her bellybutton and did not meet the start of her skirt. Tossing the jacket over her shoulder, she strutted up to Charlie, fluttering her eyelashes innocently.

"So, what do you need to see around here?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.

Her arm slid into the crevice between his lower arm and his waist, her elbow finding its way into his. Leaning her head onto his shoulder, she hugged his arm tightly as her eyes darted from his head to his toe and back. She smiled slyly, "I'll see anything you're willing to show me."

"Well, we'll start from the mess hall and go from there then," Charlie suggested, beginning to walk and dragging the high heeled Giselle along.

- - -

With a heavy groan, Abby's hands pulled the sheets from the infirmary bed, stripping it down to its foam mattresses in order to clean the bedcovers. Not thinking of using magic, she yanked every bed sheet, blanket and pillowcase from the small hospital beds, throwing them into a pile in the middle of the room before moving onto the next one to repeat her actions over and over again.

"There's a faster way to do that, you know," an English-accented voice said from the door just as she reached the last two beds. "Wave the wand and the entire infirmary is done in seconds."

"Nothing like a little bit of work the Muggle way," replied Abby, looking up from pulling a feathery pillow from its casing. "I think it teaches one to appreciate the extra help we get with having wands."

"Can't argue with that logic," nodded Seth, walking over to the last untouched bed, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, and manually beginning to pull the covers off to cast them into the mounting pile.

"Thank you," Abby said, dropping the last bit of the sheets in the middle of the floor and turning to face the researching journalist with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Now, I take it you didn't come to just help me in cleaning the room?"

"No, though I don't mind at all," Seth laughed, unrolling the sleeves of his shirt and brushing them smooth against his arm. "I'm here on work related business."

With a tilt of her head, Abby gestured Seth over to her desk, the two finding chairs to seat themselves at as Seth produced parchment from his pants pocket and used his hands against the desk to smoothen them out and make the legible. Sliding the yellowed paper across the desk so Abby could read, Seth began to explain.

"I've been trying some tests with the tears, using the revealing charms and everything on them. I've also used some of the tests that Flamel and Dumbledore used to discover the twelve uses of dragon's blood. If there's any spell test ever attempted that I'm aware of, I've tried them on the tears, and as you can see..."

"They're not showing any magical properties," Abby finished Seth's sentence, reading off Seth's recorded observations from all his work.

Seth nodded glumly, emitting a heavy sigh as he rested his forehead in his palm. "I can get them to react to some of the tests, change colour or explode, but it simply doesn't have an effect on the result. I was wondering if you had any potion tests that could be used. I tried the ones I knew, but I figured if anyone knew of any others, you might."

Abby shook her head, handing the notes back over to Seth. "I think you've tried everything I've been taught. Tamara Cohen might be able to suggest something if you ask her very nicely."

"I'm really hoping something will come from this study," Seth confided, folding his notes back up. "I know that most research projects don't procure any results and all, but I really thought something could come of this."

Folding her arms across her chest, Abby leaned back in her chair, her eyes seeming to concentrate on the tiny notch in her desk. Her fingers drummed against her upper arm just above her elbow joint. Seth rose from his seat, shoving the notes back into his pocket as he took a few steps towards the doors of the infirmary.

"You've compared dragon tears to the properties of phoenix tears," Abby remarked, stopping Seth in his tracks without having to move an inch.

Seth turned back with raised and interested eyebrows. "Yes."

"Popular research has said that phoenixes only produce tears based on emotions," recited Abby almost in a trance, her head turning slightly to look Seth in the eye, "like when their master is in pain, when one loyal to their master is in danger, or even in near death situations. That's what causes their tears. What if dragons are the same way?"

"I guess it raises the question as to if dragons have human-like emotions," Seth concluded, taking a step towards Abby, wringing his hands together as he thought out loud. "It's the query as to if they can feel sad enough to cry. If they feel at all, maybe even feel love."

"A complex thought," agreed Abby, rising to her feet to stretch out her legs and arms.

Seth had stopped cold in the middle of the infirmary, almost looking as though someone had petrified him in his spot. His grey eyes had become stagnant like rock, in a glaze that Abby had only seen before in Bella when she daydreamed. Taking a few steps closer to Seth, Abby reached out and touched Seth's shoulder, making him flinch at the feel of her hand.

"Are you okay, Seth?" Abby asked as she narrowed her eyes into Seth's as they shook their still state from them. Her fingers brushed against his forehead, feeling for a temperature.

"Yes, I'm fine," Seth nodded, bringing a smile back onto his face as he spoke. "I was just thinking about something...someone..."

"Really?" Abby replied, placing her finger to her lip, interested in hearing whose thoughts were filling Seth's mind.

Before she could question further, the door to the infirmary opened again, letting in two people, speaking loudly and drawing her and Seth's attention away.

"This is the infirmary," a redheaded male pointed out, gesturing to the newly naked beds with a puzzled look, "where all the cuts, bruises, broken arms and unaligned spines are mended."

"It's a bit...barer than I would have thought," the lady in his company quipped, noting the large pile of laundry in the middle of the floor as she made her way around it while following her tour guide.

"Hi Charlie," Seth greeted the one person he knew of the two, waving from where he stood.

"Seth!" Charlie gapped, his mouth hanging open a bit at seeing the travelling researcher in the infirmary. "What are you in here for?"

"Abby and I were looking through my work." Seth's hand gestured towards Abby standing behind and beside him. "Great help, she is. Nice to have another Healer's opinion other than mine. I tend to be slightly biased, it being my own research and all."

Charlie nodded quietly as Seth talked, his eyes darting between him and Abby, searching for a sign of truth from both of them. The nod of Abby's head told him what he wanted to know just as Giselle touched Charlie's shoulder, making his eyes rest on her.

"I do not believe you have introduced me to your friends," she whispered, batting her eyelashes towards Seth and pursing her lips together.

"Oh," Charlie gasped, jumping into action. "Giselle, this is Seth Johansson, a journalist from the Healer Herald. He's doing research here."

"Pleasure, Giselle," Seth came forward with an extended hand to the lady.

"It's all mine, I assure you," responded Giselle playfully, her palm resting atop Seth's outreached one.

Obliging to her body language, Seth bowed low, planting his lips softly onto her raised hand like a gentleman. From the corner of his eye, Charlie swore he saw Abby smirking happily, trying to hide her expression behind her closed fingers with little success. Though, Charlie may have been the only one to notice, as Giselle giggled heartily while Seth retracted his kiss, and gave her a kind smile with a nod of his head.

"And this is Abby, resident Healer," Charlie gestured towards his best lady friend with a smile in his eyes.

"Hi," Abby nodded, extending her own hand, knowing she would not be expected to kiss Giselle's in return.

"Hello," Giselle replied, not bothering to reciprocate as she merely nodded in the Healer's direction, making Abby shove her hands down into the pockets of her pants.

"Are you going to be researching here?" Abby asked, trying to maintain a small conversation.

"Merlin, no," Giselle laughed as though Abby had told an incredibly hilarious joke. "No, no, I'm aiding my uncle Herb in the office. Just filing, paperwork and all those dull little tasks."

At the mention of filing, her eyes went to her clean manicured nails, closely inspecting each finely done one for any flaws. Abby merely looked to Charlie, rolling her eyes a little and causing him suppress a laugh as Giselle looked back to him.

"Shall we continue our tour?" she suggested, turning around and taking a few steps towards the exit, her hips swaying as she walked, treating the path to the corridor like a catwalk. She stopped at the pile of sheets and spun her head to glance over her shoulder. "And leave Abby to her laundry chores?"

"Sure," Charlie nodded to her, before turning back to Abby. "I'll see you at lunch. Do you want the clam chowder or the chicken noodle soup today?"

"Just get me what you don't get," responded Abby, shrugging her shoulders casually.

"Right," said Charlie, walking towards the door behind Giselle, where she impatiently tapped her foot while waiting. "I'll see you then."

Abby waved as Charlie hurried for the door, Giselle protectively wrapping her arm around him as they walked out of the infirmary. With a quick farewell, Seth headed back to his work as well, leaving Abby with just as Giselle had implied, with laundry to be done.

- - -

"You will never guess whom I saw today, roaming about here in Romania?" a voice from the girls dormitory corridor wafted through the slightly ajar door of Room 317 as Abby folded her washed clothing and placed them appropriately into her closet.

Abby's eyes turned towards her door, letting one of her green eyes peer out into the hallway. Standing only inches away from her open door were the neighbouring American roommates of Room 318, Jerrica Macintosh and Leila Peters. Jerrica's blonde hair in a long plait was turned away from Abby, showing off a set of broad freckled shoulders, while Leila with her thick ebony cornrows was facing her, a concentrated expression crossing her dark-skinned face before she shrugged her shoulders with a sigh.

"Who?" she finally gave up trying to guess whom her roommate was referring to.

"Giselle Leblanc," replied Jerrica, her hands placed on her hips where her pyjama bottoms hung loosely, making Abby's ears perk up and hang on the words.

"No," gasped Leila, her hand covering her mouth as if in horror. "That spoiled brat from Salem Academy?"

"Fresh from her last Parisian vacation with her 'Papa,'" Jerrica answered, mimicking a girlish French accent, throwing her head back and making her plait wave behind her as she did so, "only to be swept away to Romania by her worried mother to work with her dearest and only uncle, Herb. Bit of a favour from her favourite uncle, giving her a job in the offices here." 

"She's Herb's niece," Leila gaped again, shaking her head and folding her arms across her white lab coat. "There's something I didn't expect or for that matter, want. I thought I'd seen the last of her when I left school."

"Whom are you talking about?" a third and more familiar voice entered the conversation, strolling along the corridor with a cheerful skip. "It sounds like a dreadful disease the way you're talking."

"Giselle Leblanc," Jerrica answered. "Herb's half-French-and-suffering-from-the-effects-of-her-parents-nasty-divorce-niece from Boston. She's working in the offices here."

"Oh, that's nice," the new voice chirped as happily as a bird who had just eaten its breakfast, as if she hadn't heard the entire middle part of the description. Abby cupped her mouth, not making a sound as she nearly gasped.

"Far from it," Jerrica scoffed uncaringly, her plait flipping over her shoulder. "You don't know Giselle like we do, Bella."

Abby learned a bit farther, her face pressed hard against the doorframe as she watched the scene unfolding in the corridor outside of her room. She saw the face of Bella in her view, the familiar and happy face glowing in comparison to the expression painted on Leila's face as she rolled her eyes towards her naïve neighbour.

"She had a reputation around the whole school, and it wasn't a good one," Leila backed up her point with the evidence. "Only good with the boys."

"Well, things change," Bella continued to beam in the bright positive light coming from the overhead light fixtures. "It's been some time since your school days. Don't you believe in giving her the benefit of the doubt? Maybe she's different. People do change as they grow up."

"Leopards like her don't change their spots," Jerrica folded her arms across the raggedy pyjama shirt as she leaned against the wall and disappeared from Abby's view.

"Now, now," Bella laughed, taking a step towards Room 317, turning over her shoulder to talk to her neighbours on the third floor, not looking at Abby as she straightened up and left the side of the doorframe and went back to putting away her cleaned clothes. "First impressions aren't everything, you know. Everyone deserves another chance to change your mind."

"The only way she'll make a better impression is if she leaves," Leila's voice ended the conversation as Bella entered her room. "And she will eventually. The girl is allergic to work."

Bella merely waved goodnight to the American neighbours, closing the door with a click behind her as she unbuttoned her long pink overcoat and looked ahead to see Abby in front of her own closet.

"Good evening, Abby." Bella greeted warmly as she opened her own closet to hang up her jacket, slinging the woollen pink fabric and matching scarf over the hanger.

"You're in late tonight," commented Abby, diverting her gaze away from her roommate and towards the mirror on the door, where an embarrassed eavesdropper with red cheeks looked back at her.

"Well, I was discussing some parts of my book with Seth, and we just lost track of all time," replied Bella, kicking off her shoes and socks while searching for some slippers. "Oh, and I heard that Herb's niece has come to Romania to work here. Have you met her yet?"

"I have," Abby said honestly.

"And what did you think of her?" questioned Bella, abandoning the search for slippers to look towards Abby with interest in her hazel brown eyes. "I was just speaking to Leila and Jerrica. They don't seem too fond of her."

Abby paused, thinking about what Bella had claimed in the hallway. There was no doubt about the first impression Giselle Leblanc had made in her quick visit to the infirmary, but at the same time, pity and sympathy filled the pit of her stomach for Herb's niece, making her feel mean about her own feelings towards the newcomer. Bella did have a very strong point.

"She seemed...a bit cold," Abby hesitated to speak as she looked up at Bella's waiting eyes, "but I guess that might have just been nervousness or something."

"Well, I guess I'll have to meet her sometime," Bella nodded, walking towards her desk, spotting the sight of pink fuzz from beneath her chair. "I'm sure any relative of Herb's is a very nice person."

Nodding along, Abby couldn't think of more to say to Bella. Instead, she only muttered, "I suppose so." 

"Oh Abby!" Bella called from across the room, opening the window wide open and letting the frigid night air breeze in through her waves of hair. "You have an owl here. Aren't you a popular girl? I swear, you've been getting one of these every day since last week."

**A/N:** Little twist, adding yet another new character. Well, I can't help it. This is driven by characters that aren't canon, and believe me when I say it helps the plot thicken.

And Giselle Wilde Leblanc has her appearance courtesy of the lovely Elisha Cuthbert. Her mother and Herb's sister, Ingrid, in my mind looks like Kim Catrall.

Keep reading!


	21. Chapter Twenty: Opposing Intentions

**Chapter Twenty: Opposing Intentions**

Rain pounded heavily against the windows of the reserve, the icy spring showers shedding the last of winter's spell, freeing the green grass from beneath the blanket that had covered it for months. The air smelled of a slight tinge of warmth, the sign that Earth was regenerating as it did every year. Walking across the courtyard path leading from his dormitory room towards the main building, Simeon was unaware of how drenched he had gotten in the few seconds outside. Letting the fresh downpour course over him naturally, it soaked down into his skin and seeped down from the pores into the core of his body. With a heavy cleansing sigh, he stepped out of the rain and into the main building, dripping with the liquid heaven made.

Leaving behind a trail of wet footprints, he marched along the corridors, his cold hands in his pockets. The water in his shoes squished and squashed as he marched. Passing the lounge, he stopped at the handmade scoreboard chart of the Triwizard Champions, giving it a hard long look with his tiny dark eyes. Finding the representative of Durmstrang, Viktor Krum, he nodded reluctantly. Krum was in second place at eighty points, the two Hogwarts champions tying for the top spot only five points ahead while Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons was far behind because of her second task fiasco involving Grindylows, at least according to the Merrows. Simeon remembered handing over another satchel of Galleons to Charlie for the results of the underwater challenge, but he had lost the bet to him fairly and that much was undeniable.

Continuing his way along the twisting corridors and hallways, he made his way up a flight of stairs, streaks of water being left behind him and marking every single step he'd taken. Squeaking quietly along the researcher's corridor, he peered through the large fishbowl window, watching as researchers in white lab coats worked swiftly and silently against the backdrop of rain against the opposing window. Keeping an eye open for one particular young researcher he stared through the window as remaining rain trickled down his face.

"By Merlin!" a sudden gasp from around the corner entered his ears, making him turn his head and straighten his back at attention. "Simeon Slovensky, you're going to catch a dreadful cold."

Not having time to react, Simeon felt a soft hand grab his arm and pull him to the end of the corridor and into the last office. Being thrown onto a spare wooden chair, he soon found himself having a pink wool jacket draped around his shoulders while the hands of an Italian researcher holding his cheekbones in her palms.

"You must have been caught in this downpour," Bella shook her head, feeling Simeon's cold skin as concern danced around her brown pupils. "Best keep you as warm as possible. Do you think you need to see Abby? She may have a potion."

Simeon shook his head. "No, Miss Bella. I am fine."

A weak smile crossed Bella's face, her hand patting the dragon keeper's knee lovingly. "I'd ask you to remove your wet clothes, but I'm afraid I don't have anything for you to wear."

Giving her wand a little shake, heat began to emit from the tip, waves of warm air splashing onto Simeon's skin. He could feel his skin drying to a clammy touch instantly, wanting almost to jump back outside and into the rain again just to rid himself of the tight feeling.

"Feel okay?" asked Bella, putting one of her hands on the breast of Simeon's soaking shirt.

His spine jolted as her hands rested on his body, giving an involuntary shiver that made Bella's hand jump back into her lap. Diverting his eyes away from Bella, he nodded his head. "I am fine."

Quietude took over the room, neither Bella nor Simeon moving to speak as warm air continued to fill the small space. Little beads of sweat formed along Bella's forehead, her delicate hand fanning herself as she sighed, looking about the room as if trying to search for something to speak of other than the horrible weather.

"How is your book coming?" Simeon finally broke the silence, making Bella's eyes widen in shock at his sudden reception to conversation.

"It's coming along all right," grinned Bella, rising to her seat to grab her pink flowered folder. Opening it up, she pulled out a few scrap parchments, looking them over in a quick glance. "Still a long way to go, naturally; so much research to be done still. I think I've finally gotten the chapter about Antipodean Opaleyes done though. Still not too sure about it."

"May I?" Simeon held out his hand, gesturing towards the papers stuffed into Bella's folder.

"Oh, of course," replied Bella immediately as she handed the parchments she'd written on in her neat uniform print to the soaking dragon keeper. "I'm always open to anyone who wants to give me some feedback or criticism. Goodness knows I need it, my English writing still isn't the greatest."

Grasping the papers in his own hands carefully, Simeon gave Bella a small nod as he started reading, cautiously keeping the fragile pieces away from his soaking clothes as her wand continued to blow hot air in his direction. His small dark eyes scanned over the pages, taking in every single image that Bella's mind had conjured by words, drinking them in like sweet elf-made wine. Little scribbled drawings in the corners and edges of the page danced, becoming alive on the page as if she had photographed the image in pencil film. It could have been a list of people's phone numbers and advertisements for all Simeon knew, but Bella made it seem like music to his ears.

"So, what do you think of it?" questioned Bella as Simeon reached the end of the last page and turned back to the beginning. "Any mistakes you can find?"

"Lovely," was the only word Simeon said, holding the pages back out to Bella.

"Really?" Bella cooed, a larger pearly smile spreading out from one ear to her other. "You really think it's good?"

Simeon nodded.

"Oh, thank you," exclaimed Bella, leaping from her seat and wrapping her arms around Simeon's shoulders tightly, not caring for the fact he was still damp and dripping rain water. "That is so sweet of you to say. It means so much to me that you like it."

His eyes widened as he felt Bella's little body press against his, her hands in his mass of drenched hair. Clenched tightly against the arms of the chair were his knuckles, too white in surprise to remove themselves from their place and hug the lovely writer back. There was barely a breath left in him to protest her outburst of happiness, and a section of his mind was grateful for it.

"Well hello," a voice Simeon had grown to loathe like a plague entered the area from the door. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Oh, Seth," Bella chirped, jumping up to greet the travelling journalist as he set a fresh fragrant bouquet of pink and white lilies on the desk. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare set of clothes, would you? Poor Simeon got caught in this nasty weather and his are all wet, as you can see."

"I happen to have a bit to spare today," Seth nodded, placing his backpack down on the floor, starting to rummage through it for something for Simeon.

"It is fine," Simeon shook his head. "I vill dry. I vill be fine."

Pausing, his nose began to twitch, letting out a mighty sneeze just as he had finished his sentence. Without delay, he did it again, the strong smell of the flowers from Seth irritating his sensitive nostrils.

"Nonsense," protested Seth, pulling out an old green t-shirt and a pair of torn and ripped blue jeans from his sac as Simeon sniffled back another sneeze. "Sounds like you're already developing a slight cold, and we don't want that to further. Spring is almost here, the new working season is coming what with the possible hatchlings, and you don't want to start that off sick."

Tossing the garments towards Simeon, matched with a pair of white socks, Seth removed his wand from his pocket and pointed the tip towards the ceiling to conjure a curtain rod, dividing the small office space and sectioning a small corner of it off with a long navy drape.

"I assume you don't want us watching." Seth's head tilted towards the new partition, his eyes giggling along with Bella's chortle. "Put those on. Once you're in some dry clothes, you'll reduce your chances of a cold by a lot."

With a quiet groan, Simeon picked up the pieces that Seth had given him, disappearing behind the thick blue curtain to change his waterlogged shirt for a new clean and dry one. Vanishing from sight of Bella and Seth, it was as though he was no longer there as Seth began to flip through the latest chapter on Antipodean Opaleyes and make suggestions to an interested researcher.

- - -

"Shame about the weather," Justin Arbor commented, staring vacantly out the lounge window into the misty grey rain. "First the ground is covered in snow and now the rain. We'll have to schedule a Quidditch game once it clears. I've been waiting for months for a go at the goal."

Mockingly throwing a Quaffle out the window, Justin let out a sigh of longing before flopping onto the couch in front of the television set. Turning his head to the glowing box of colour, thoughts diverted from one sport to another, the Chicago Black Hawks in an intense hockey match against the Calgary Flames. 

"It has been a while since we've played Quidditch here," Constantine picked up the abandoned conversation from a nearby table where he and Zuberi were concentrating on building a tower made entirely of wizard cards. "I don't know if my double eight loop is what it used to be."

"As long as we have a good Seeker, that doesn't matter," stated Zuberi, barely looking up from his gentle placement of the next tier to the growing card building. "Isn't that right, Charlie?"

Charlie didn't respond, leaning against the closest wall with a magazine in his hand. Flipping the page and continuing to gaze his eyes upon the words he read, Constantine pulled his cherry wood wand. Pointing the tip towards Charlie, a loud slap hit the dragon keeper on the cheek, making him drop his reading material and look sharply at his two companions.

"What's the idea?" questioned Charlie, eying Constantine and his wand as he leaned over and picked up the magazine.

"What's so interesting that you completely ignore talk of the best sport ever, Quidditch?" Constantine rebuked, slamming his fist against the table, causing the card tower to shudder to Zuberi's dismay.

"The Zonko's Catalogue," Charlie answered, showing his Greek co-worker the bright zany moving cover of what he had been flipping through. "I'm trying to decide what to send my twin brothers for their birthday. It's only two weeks away."

"Just go with the classic," shrugged Constantine, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded. "Dungbombs. It always does the trick for my nephews. Anything that annoys their parents or teachers is a good one."

"That's what everyone gets them every year," Charlie shook his head, trying to find the page he had been browsing before he had been interrupted. "Mind you, they use them enough."

"There you go," nodded Constantine, giving Charlie an as-a-matter-of-fact smile as he plopped his feet on top of the card table, his heavy boot ramming through the base of the card tower, making the entire thing collapse and burst into flying golden sparks. Zuberi buried his face in his hands, past words to yell at Constantine with as he clenched his fist at his roommate.

"Best order those now then, owl post taking forever and all" Charlie excused himself from the room, leaving the two before anything could happen.

Scurrying out of the lounge, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as he shut the door behind him, feeling as though he had escaped something particularly brutal. Briskly, he made his way towards Herb's office nearby, hoping to borrow a quill and some ink to write out the order form. With his finger marking the page for Dungbomb orders, he raised his closed hand to the door, ready to knock, when it opened itself to reveal a pretty pale face.

"Why, hello Charlie," Giselle Leblanc greeted him with surprise, letting out a small girlish giggle as she opened the door fully.

"Giselle," replied Charlie, his eyes scanning the office for its regular occupant, purposely trying to keep his field of vision away from the scantily clothed niece of his boss, whom in spite of the rainy weather wore a cropped purple shirt that showed off her bellybutton and a tight fitting skirt to match.

"We really must stop meeting like this or I'll have to tell my uncle you're stalking me," she teased, running her fingers through her blonde mane playfully. "Really, these past few weeks, it seems I can't get away from you. Every time I step out of the office, there you are. How do you explain this odd, yet fascinating, phenomenon?"

"Would you believe in a lot of coincidences?" Charlie joked back, forcing a small laugh as Giselle watched him through her piercing cerulean coloured eyes. "Could I borrow a quill and some ink for a moment?"

"Well, I was about to go on a coffee break, but all right," she said, moving towards the desk where Herb normally sat, giving Charlie enough room to finally enter.

Looking curiously at the desk in front of her, Giselle's fingers slid under the handle and pulled on the first drawer, her eyes scanning it for a quill and ink. Not finding it she moved onto the next, and the next. The only sound in the office was the sound of opening and slamming desk drawers, and then those belonging to the filing cabinet as she searched for the items Charlie sought.

"Where oh where did Uncle Herb put them?" she laughed, giving Charlie a quick eyelash bat before turning back to her search. "I swear, he needs keep things a bit more organised in here."

"Normally he keeps them in the same spot all the time," Charlie pointed out, taking a seat at Herb's desk and opening the very top drawer on his left, where many brightly coloured quills and varied coloured inks rested neatly atop batches of parchment paper. "Right here."

"Oh." Giselle twirled a strand of hair in her fingers, a small flush of pink rising into her cheeks behind the layer of foundation as she stood behind Charlie, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Silly me. I'm always forgetting those sorts of things."

"That's all right," excused Charlie, taking out a red quill along with some plain black ink, unscrewing the cap to the bottle. "It happens."

Feeling a squeeze on his shoulders, Giselle's delicate fingers began to knead at his flesh, her thumbs pushing into the tender area just below his neck and around his spine. He shuddered in surprise just as his quill dipped into the black inkbottle, nearly spilling the ink all over the desk to Giselle's amusement as she giggled lightly. Taking a deep breath, he pretended he didn't feel her touch as he began to fill out the order form for two sets of Deluxe Dungbombs. Continuing to write out the information, it became harder to ignore, the push of her fingers becoming stronger as he sat still. A part of his mind was telling him to just tell her to stop it, that it felt a bit strange considering they worked together, but the politer side of him thought against it.

"You're very tense, Charlie," Giselle declared, running her manicured nail down his neck very gently. "I can feel it in your shoulders."

"I'm sure it's nothing," Charlie brushed the thought aside, feeling Giselle's hands travel down his chest and wrap around him, making him cringe from the inside.

"You need to relax a bit," Giselle suggested sweetly, removing her arms around Charlie as he stood up, rolling up the order forms and tying them with a bit of string from Herb's desk drawer. "Perhaps a strong cup of coffee would do the trick? Care to join me for some?"

"Best not," replied Charlie, turning around to face the blue-eyed office worker, patting down the rolled up parchment. "I've got to get these to the owlery. Right now."

"Oh," sighed Giselle, disappointment crossing her face as her eyes looked away from Charlie's, not wanting to meet them head on. "Then maybe we could meet for lunch instead?"

Charlie shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I have to take a lunch up to Abby. If I don't, she doesn't eat, so I don't really eat in the mess hall mid-day." 

The blue eyes of Giselle blinked a few times, before she shook her head and smiled towards Charlie. "Don't apologise. She is your friend, after all, and that dreadfully thin little thing needs to eat. Perhaps another time we can have a cup of coffee together."

"Sure," Charlie responded without thinking, feeling guilty about having to take a rain check with the only niece of his boss when she was trying to be so nice, massaging his back merely because she thought he was tense. "We'll do that some time soon."

Waving goodbye, Charlie disappeared up the stairs, bounding up the stairs in leaps towards the owlery as he pulled a hood over his head. Giselle watched as he vanished around the corner and out of sight as she leaned against the doorframe. A few dragon keepers walked by, saying hello as they passed her, but her gaze didn't remove itself from the direction Charlie had left in.

"We'll do that some time soon," she repeated Charlie's words quietly to herself, pushing her body off of the doorframe. "You can count on that, Charlie. I do enjoy a challenge."

With a grin, she strutted back into the office. Glancing at her nails, her thoughts turned to filing and the emery board sitting in her purse just waiting to be used.

- - -

The fogged windows of the infirmary were hard to see anything from, but Abby didn't need to look out to know it was raining. The pattering against the glass was enough to inform her of the weather, raging and endless, which had prompted her to put on a kettle for a hot pot of green tea to warm her from the inside out. Whenever rain fell when she had lived in the United Kingdom, it had always seemed tradition to have a cup of tea, just as a source of comfort from the uncontrolled climate. 

Hearing the steel teapot whistle from over her burning blue fire, she carefully manoeuvred her wand to lift it from the heat source, placing it over a porcelain holder before placing fresh tea leaves in. She let it steep only for a moment, and then poured herself a cup while it was still piping hot.

Even Muggle health specialists knew of green tea's medicinal benefits, though no one had truly explained how it was so. It was a fairly recent find of wizard kind as well, the health benefits being due to the Japanese water demon, the Kappa. Every time the scaled monkey Kappa spilt the littlest drop of water from its hollow bucket head, a bit of the creature's strength went with it. Such potency of the liquid was breeding ground for the beneficial tea plant, being medically helpful and calming as well as delicious on the tongue.

Abby smelt the intoxicating drink as it warmed her hands through the edges of the handle-free cup. Letting the steam rise and glaze her chin, it was as if she could already taste the sweet liquid coursing over her tongue and sliding down her throat and into her stomach. Bringing the brim of the cup to her lips she sipped only a small amount, not wanting to burn her mouth, just enough to heat every inch of herself without having to put on her jacket.

"Perfect," she sighed blissfully, her eyelids falling a little bit as she felt the warm sensation travel to her toes.

Taking in the moment of complete serenity, her mind drifted into thoughts far from the infirmary, raging rain and unwanted owls. It felt as though she floated, as light as a leaf caught in an autumn breeze dancing on white clouds. Closing her eyes, she could see sunlight that had not yet shown its head that day, imagining it in her head. A pair of brown eyes came into her brain, staring straight at her green ones before a loud bang of the infirmary door against the wall cut off her thoughts and made her open her eyes in reality.

"Giselle," Abby exclaimed at seeing Herb's niece walking towards her in violet coloured heels. "What brings you here?"

The office worker cringed slightly, jutting out her lower lip a little as she raised her left index finger for Abby to see. "Paper cut."

"Oh, those can be painful," sympathised Abby, tightening her lips as she glanced at the thin red slit in Giselle's finger, "but it's also easily mended. Take a seat and I'll get the disinfectant solution."

"Thank you!" Giselle took a seat on top of the clean white bed closest to her, crossing her legs and resting her chin in her left palm, keeping her injured finger out so not to cause herself more pain than necessary. She watched as Abby headed over to a cabinet, beginning to rustle through her potion supplies, checking every label as she searched for something to clean the cut.

"So, how's the office?" Abby asked, making small conversation as she read the label of a thick green coloured potion, taking a whiff to realise it wasn't what she sought.

"Bit lonely, naturally," answered Giselle with a little sigh. "It is just Uncle Herb and myself all day long in that little office. Of course, we get visitors and helpers coming in sometimes, but on the whole it's a very isolated job."

"I know the feeling," nodded Abby, uncorking a purple solution from her cabinet and walking over to the nearest table to Giselle's spot. "There are days that I'm here completely alone."

"Except for lunch," Giselle pointed out cleverly, raising her eyebrows slightly in Abby's direction. "Charlie always comes to bring you lunch, doesn't he?"

Abby paused. Turning her head slowly over her shoulder, she met Giselle's engrossed blue eyes, waiting for an answer from the Healer. "Well, yes."

"He seems like a nice friend," commented Giselle as she flipped her hair over her shoulder, "doing that for you and all." 

"Oh, he is," Abby agreed right away with no hesitation, turning her attention back to the potion flask as she conjured a long white cotton swab from her wand. "We go quite far back, all the way to Hogwarts in fact."

"Really?" Giselle said, patiently waiting as Abby dipped the swab into the bottle of cleaning solution, soaking it until it had become a light lilac when she withdrew it. "How...sweet. He really is a catch for any girl who would want him."

The swab in Abby's hand fell back into the potion bottle, though she barely realised it as her wide-eyed attention went to Giselle, who raised her mocking eyebrows a little higher. Diverting her green eyes away, she quickly busied herself with fishing the cotton swab from the bottle, avoiding the interrogating look in the office worker's pupils.

"He'll make someone very happy one day," she concurred without looking to Giselle as she pressed the end of the swab against the glass of the flask, managing to worm it out of the solution and press it against the brim to let the excess trickle back in.

"I know," grinned Giselle, batting her eyelashes sweetly as she tilted her head slightly to the left.

"Now, this may sting a bit," warned Abby, finally approaching Giselle with the soaked cotton swab in one hand while using the other to hold her patient's wrist steady and still as she sat on the bed next to her.

Sticking out her wounded finger, she barely flinched as the purple potion seeped into the cut and cleaned it of any dirt or bacterium. Taking great care, Abby made sure to coat the minor injury well, but by the smile Giselle bore seemed to suggest she couldn't feel a thing.

"Do you know if he's interested in anyone or seeing anyone currently?" Giselle asked as Abby removed the cotton swab from her wound.

"Excuse me?" blinked Abby, not following along with what her patient was speaking of so suddenly.

"Charlie," laughed Giselle heartily. "Do you know if Charlie is interested in or seeing someone?"

The Healer coughed a bit, clearing her throat as she shook her head. "No." She grasped her wand in her hand, pointing it towards Giselle's cut finger to mend the skin. "No, I don't know."

"You know, when I first met you and saw the way he looked at you so caringly, I was under the impression you two were an item," confessed the office worker as she watched her red injury become flesh again, waiting for a reaction from the person mending her finger.

"No," Abby responded right away, not removing her green gaze away from her work as the small paper cut became completely sealed. Releasing her light grip from Giselle's wrist, she met the blue eyes of her patient and brushed away her stray strands of brown hair. "We're the best of friends."

"I see that," Giselle nodded with an understanding smile. She put her hand on Abby's, giving it a tight reassuring squeeze. "You just don't have that intention for him. By what I know of you, you'd never risk a friendship for romance. He means that much that you wouldn't want to ruin anything you already have."

No words came from Abby, only a nod as she took a deep breath. Looking down at her left hand, Giselle's hand atop it, there was nothing to be said on her part.

"You know, I think that's smart of you," Giselle added in, patting Abby's hand softly. "I really think it's wise to keep friendship rather than put it on the line by adding in passion. I've known too many people who have ruined a good camaraderie because they thought they could be more." 

"I'm really not searching for romance now anyway," admitted Abby at last, removing her hand from beneath Giselle's as she stood up. Walking back to the uncorked potion, she quickly closed it up tightly, pushing down on the cork with the brute force of her single thumb.

"Really?" Herb's niece rose from the bed, smoothing out her skirt as Abby turned to face her with the shut potion flask.

"Just not my time," Abby shook her head, her right hand unconsciously glazing over her bare ring finger.

Giselle nodded politely and began to walk backwards in her heels, towards the door leaving the clean infirmary. "Well, thank you for that mend. I'd best be off, plenty to do today."

"No problem," replied Abby, shaking herself awake to wave goodbye from where she stood at the bedside. "Have a good day."

With a small click, the infirmary door closed behind the grinning Giselle, the quiet returning to the room with only the sound of beating rain once again. Setting the bottle of cleaning solution back into the cabinet, Abby picked up her cup of green tea, feeling the mug had gone cold. Sighing quietly, she vanished the frigid drink and poured a new steaming cup. Bringing it to her lips, she let the liquid dump down her throat in one long gulp, draining the cup of tea. The heat spread quickly, warming her up from the pit of her stomach outward, but the sensation of worry-free floating didn't return. There was no comfort at the bottom of the mug.

The door to the infirmary opened again, three people walking in as Abby focused on who had come to see her. Two of them were Seth and Bella, walking on either side of another man wearing a green shirt and light blue jeans, whom she couldn't put a name to as they approached her.

"Abby," greeted Bella as she tucked her loose curls behind her ear, "thank goodness you're here."

"What's the matter?" the Healer asked, setting her empty cup of tea down.

"Simeon got caught in the rain earlier," explained Seth, putting his hand on the shoulder of the man in the green shirt, catching Abby by surprise at seeing the Bulgarian dragon keeper in a colour other than black. "I gave him a change of clothes, but judging by the sneezing fit he had in the office, we thought it was best to bring him down to you."

"Okay," Abby nodded, gesturing for Simeon to have a seat on the nearest bed.

"You'll soon be better, Simeon," Bella assured, sitting next to Simeon and holding his hand tightly with one hand as the other brushed his long dark bangs aside. "You just take care of this cold and it'll be gone in no time at all."

"Come on, Bella," Seth tilted his head to gesture towards the door. "We'd better leave Simeon to recover and Abby to work her magic."

"Shouldn't we stay with him?" questioned Bella, her eyes darting from Seth to Abby and back for an answer.

"Well, you don't want to catch his cold," Seth reasoned logically, putting his hand on her shoulder gently. "It can be contagious until treated properly. And we don't want to distract Abby from her work. It's best if we leave for the time being. We can always come back a bit later, if that's all right?"

Abby nodded as Bella's pleading stare bore into her. Torn between the hand in her own and the hand on her shoulder, she released Simeon's, beginning to follow Seth out the door.

"We'll be back to see you," she said quietly. "You get better."

"Rest up, Simeon," Seth added with a nod of his head before he and Bella disappeared through the door.

Unmoving from his place on the bed, Simeon remained unflinching, letting his clumpy dry bangs fall over his dark eyes again. Approaching carefully, Abby felt his forehead for a temperature, nodding at its normalcy. Observing his nose, it wasn't red or runny, nor was his throat inflamed as she gave his mouth a quick peek. Looking Simeon up and down in the quickest scan, there was nothing wrong with his physical health. It was his eyes that told a different story, one that Abby was quite familiar with and understood without expression.

"You know, I don't think it's too serious," she confessed honestly with a weak smile, "but I would prescribe a cup of tea."

Moving towards her steel kettle, she quickly took another handle-free cup from a cabinet and poured another cup of hot tea. Steam rose gradually as she glided over to Simeon, holding it out to him. Slowly, his hand wrapped around it, holding the warm mug as he nodded gratefully.

"Thank you, Miss Ridges," he whispered, silently toasting before he took a sip.

"No problem," she replied, taking a seat across from him.

The two sat in silence as the rain pounded against the infirmary windows, further word exchange seeming unnecessary between them.

**A/N:** If anyone has doubt of where Simeon's affections lie, read this chapter VERY carefully. wink wink

And supposedly green tea is good for you, but...it doesn't actually occur because of Kappas in the canon. That's just me being imaginative off tangent. But green tea is very nice.

Not much else to note. Hope you're enjoying yourself.


	22. Chapter Twenty One: A Wilde Anniversary

**RubeusHagrid34:** Thank you for your kind words. The statement about the object of Simeon's affections is meant as a statement of the obvious. You, alongside those who had read this before, have likely figured it out. Actually, I don't think anyone I've met has gone against it, unless they want Simeon for themselves (another common reaction amongst friends of both genders).

- - -

**Chapter Twenty-One: A Wilde Anniversary**

Springtime's arrival was met with plenty of work for everyone on the reserve, the warmer weather bringing the sleepy giant lizards out of their hibernation state and allowing for activity to resume for keepers and researchers alike. Days of consistent sunshine, followed by brief interruptions of spring rain, made working much more pleasant, fear of slipping around on icy rocks not being valid any longer. The cool fresh mountain air was filled with a thousand sweet lively scents, rising from the low farm valleys and falling from the high peaks. With the trees budding new rich green leaves and puddles from previous spring sprinkles drying up on the road, the morning was ideal for a jog from the reserve to the barrier and back.

Abby's trainers beat against the dirt road, stirring loose pebbles as she kept a steady paced run on the way back to the reserve. The morning light created a long shadow to trail behind her, the only sun hitting her being through the gaps the leaves overhead created. With deep breaths, she ran along the lonely road, seeing the tall white building that was the reserve not far away. Picking up the pace a bit, she began to jog a little faster, making good time as the building drew closer.

From above, an owl flew metres above her head, gracing the skyline with its lovely white wingspan. With a flap of its wings, it got ahead of the running Healer, swooping lower so that she would see the envelope clutched in his claws and cause her to stop dead in her tracks.

"Thanks," she sighed, reluctantly taking the letter addressed to Miss Abigail Ridges from the owl's foot as it flew away over the trees.

With another deep breath, she tucked the parchment letter into her back pocket and continued her morning exercise, keeping the adrenaline pumping through her blood as she sprinted for the door. Moving her arms as she went, her speed accelerated and put momentum behind her legs. Leaping over the steps in a single bound, she landed on the veranda and stepped through the unlocked door, hunching over to let her kilometre away lungs catch up with the rest of her.

"Another early morning run?" asked Herb as he stood nearby, looking up from sorting his pile of mail to smile at Abby.

"Just taking advantage of the gorgeous weather while it lasts," answered Abby, wiping her sweaty forehead with the backside of her hand, trying to stand up straight and stretch out her long figure. 

"Good for you," her boss exclaimed proudly with a small salute as she walked towards the mess hall for a spot of breakfast while spinning her arms from her shoulder sockets. "Always good to get out and get the old ticker pumping. Keep it up, Abby."

Wiping her sweaty palms on her black track pants and white t-shirt, she walked through the doors of the mess hall, finding the familiar faces of Charlie and Simeon sitting at a nearly empty table as she got a bottle of water and buttered toast for breakfast. Making her way to the table, she flopped into the bench seat next to Charlie, immediately digging into her water, downing most of it in one long gulp.

"Ever heard of something called a shower, Abby?" Charlie joked as he took a drink from his morning coffee.

"Shut it," she rebuked immediately, pushing his head gently so he nearly tipped over the end of the bench. "I don't complain after you've been playing in dragon dung for an afternoon and by the way, you reek after that even if you have had a shower."

"Oh, someone's sarcastic today," he sneered in rebuttal. "I didn't know it was that time of the month again."

"Are you looking into getting beaten up by a girl today?" asked Abby with a teasing smile and innocent eyelash flutter. "Because if you are, you're partway there."

Charlie began to quietly laugh, his body shaking as he tried to control himself from bursting out into convulsions while Abby gave him a playful glare as she ripped into her buttered toast. Shaking his head, he couldn't bear to look in her direction in fear he'd laugh his breakfast out of his stomach.

"Hey, you lot," a voice came from Simeon's side of the table, taking a place next to the Bulgarian dragon keeper.

"Hi Rolf," Abby greeted pleasantly, continuing to munch away on her toast without looking up at Rolf Nielson, a tall blonde Danish dragon keeper.

"Hello," he politely replied, though barely giving the Healer a glance as he jumped into talking, commanding attention with his voice. "I come on behalf of the social committee. As you may be aware, Herb and Nisha will be celebrating their tenth wedding anniversary in three weeks time, April the twenty-seventh."

"I vouldn't have known," Simeon grunted as he dunked an already sopping teabag into a cup of hot water, "it only happens every year."

Rolf shot a daggered glare towards the person sitting to his right, who didn't bother taking his focus away from his steeping tea, before returning to his order of business with his hands folded professionally on the table. "The social committee here has decided to throw them a surprise anniversary party, but obviously, if we're going to surprise our boss and his wife, we can't have a party for them on the actual date. And besides, it's a Tuesday and some of us would probably have to work the early Wednesday shift. Our best bet is the Saturday before, April the twenty-fourth, since the week before that is Easter and Passover."

"Logical enough," commented Charlie with a nod, not making eye contact with the overly serious Dane.

"Last year was the Hawaiian theme party," said Rolf, causing a ripple of snickers from Charlie and Abby, their minds jumping into Herb's themed daily wardrobe, which couldn't have been any more appropriate. "But seeing as the year ten is a larger landmark, there were suggestions in the committee of something more formal rather than a theme party and in the vote, we passed the motion. Therefore, we are going semi-formal. You don't have to wear dress robes or bow ties, but you should be clean and presentable. So, everyone is expected to contribute five Sickles towards a present for the happy couple. We'll be passing around lists shortly for people who wish to help in decorating, cooking, setting up and so forth. The party commences when Herb and Nisha arrive, which should be at about six thirty that night, but we are requesting that everyone come early for the surprise part of the evening. Any other information will be passed on somehow. If you can, try to spread the word around to co-workers and make sure everyone knows about the party and that it is to be kept secret from Herb and Nisha. Are you clear about the secret part?"

The trio nodded.

"Good," the informant nodded, rising from his seat and making his way towards the next huddle of people. "As you were."

Waiting until the guy was out of earshot, Abby shook her head as she turned to Charlie. "Could that have sounded any more like military instructions?"

"He has been taking lessons from Valerie," Simeon replied, raising his steeped cup of tea to his lips.

Dusting her hands thoroughly of toasted breadcrumbs, Abby grabbed the remaining piece of toast in one hand and the empty breakfast tray with the other. Rising from the bench, a small swing of one leg and then the other released her from the table. "Okay, time to get going."

"You go to work looking like that?" Charlie asked, looking over Abby's sweaty workout attire with a mocking puzzled stare.

"No, but you're another step closer to being beaten up today," she replied with devious smile, putting the slice of bread between her teeth as she began to walk off.

Turning back to face his own nearly finished breakfast, Charlie's brown eye caught something lying under the bench. Leaning down from where he sat, his hand grazed the wooden floor, grabbing at the piece of trash.

"When will people learn the floor isn't a dustbin?" sighed Charlie as he sat up straight with the rough parchment paper in his hand.

"Vhen the Chudley Cannons vin the League Cup," Simeon answered, spreading a thick layer of peanut butter over his own toast. 

Charlie laughed, his mind jumping into the thoughts his youngest brother, a dedicated Chudley Cannons fan despite the over-a-century-long losing streak, would have to say to Simeon. Looking at the piece of scrap he had plucked off of the floor, he noted it wasn't the discarded napkin he expected it to be. It was an envelope, with writing on it. And was addressed to the person who had sat next to him only a few seconds ago.

"Abby," he called out, waving the envelope high in the air before the Healer could exit the mess hall. "I think you dropped something." 

Rotating from her waist, Abby's green eyes widened in horror at seeing the yellowed envelope in Charlie's hand, her mouth gaping open and making the uneaten toast fall to the floor. Spinning the lower half of her body around, she broke into a speedy jog straight towards her morning letter as Charlie brought it to the level of his eye and turned it right side up.

"Miss Abigail Ridges," he read off the envelope as it was written in a neat slanted cursive print just as Abby quickly snatched it from his grip with her outreached hand. "Who on Earth calls you Abigail?"

"Some people," she shot out a reply defensively, hastily shoving the crumpled letter into her back pocket as she scampered out the door, picking up the ruined toast and tossing it into a dustbin as she went.

"That was odd," Charlie shrugged towards Simeon, resting his elbows on the table as his fingers tapped against it. Looking down thoughtfully at his plate for a second, he let out a heavy sigh. "Maybe it is that time of the month."

- - -

Planning towards the surprise anniversary party went on behind the backs of Herb and Nisha easily, astonishingly enough. With Nisha busying herself daily with cleaning and cooking and Herb rushing about to prepare for the baby dragons expected in early May, the employees of the reserve could take any opportunity to sneak around hallways and make quick plans. Just as Rolf had promised, information was being passed on in many ways periodically over the weeks leading up to the party, scraps of parchment being slipped under dormitory doors, messages written on bathroom mirrors, word of mouth, or some random interesting method no one would have thought of.

"Sign-up sheets," Sergio Nunes, a Portuguese dragon keeper, passed a clipboard to Simeon as he and Charlie walked up the hall towards their early afternoon shift, not bothering to stop marching in the opposite direction.

"Vhat job do you vant?" Simeon asked, taking the ballpoint pen tied to the board in his hand and signing his surname to the clean-up crew. 

"Put me in clean-up," said Charlie, not giving the sheet a glance. "We have an afternoon shift that Saturday, not like we can do the decorating or set up or cooking."

Scribbling his roommate's last name down with a nod, Simeon held the clipboard to his side just as Canadian researcher Bonnie Haskins walked by. With her free hand, she discreetly slipped it out from Simeon's arm, his responsibility to the lists passing on.

"Pick up the pace, I am leading this veek," Simeon reminded, stepping up his fast walk for a light jog.

"Don't worry, we're early," Charlie tapping the face of his watch, proving they had another twenty minutes before shifts switched.

Regardless of the new information, Simeon continued to jog ahead of Charlie towards the equipment rooms, soon vanishing around a corner and out of sight. Taking his time, Charlie slowed his pace, taking a look at the pictures decorating the wall as he turned into another corridor.

A crowd of co-workers had formed across three-quarters of the hall, leaving only a small gap for someone to walk through by sucking in their stomach, just outside of Herb's office. Wondering what was going on, Charlie peered between the gaps of the crowd, trying to get a glimpse of what was so interesting that it attracted all the attention of his male friends.

"Why, hello Charlie," the centre of attention greeted him pleasantly. "Long time, no see."

"Hi Giselle," Charlie waved, taking a few steps back towards the opposing wall, hoping to be able to squeeze past his fellow workers in the small gap they had left in the corridor.

"Oh, wait a moment, Charlie," Giselle called after him, waving her hands to part her audience like Moses did at the Red Sea as she approached him. "I was hoping for a chance to speak with you for a moment. Alone."

Taking his arm into her elbow before he could protest or make up an excuse, she walked him to the corner he had just come around, and put the suspicious crowd they had come out of out of earshot.

"You know, I have a shift I have to get ready for," Charlie excused himself, pointing back down the hallway. "Could this..."

"I'll be very brief," assured Giselle, putting her finger to his lips to silence his chatter, her other hand resting over his chest. "All I wish to do is make sure you'll save a dance for me on Saturday night."

"You know, I really don't dance very well," said Charlie truthfully. "Actually, I don't think I've ever had to."

"That's no problem," Giselle tossed his concern to the side. "It's not so much the dancing part I'm interested in, but it's my little attempt at getting to know everyone a little bit better. It's so lonely in the office and all, and I thought, a song lasts for a few moments, and as long as I get to dance with as many people as possible, we could chat in those few minutes. And besides, it's no fun to sit out a dance. I'm making sure I'm booked solid."

Twirling a strand of hair around her index finger, she looked up at Charlie, waiting for the right answer to pop out of his mouth. With a nervous gulp, Charlie opened his mouth to say something, no words managing to surface while beneath the sweet smile of Giselle Leblanc. He opened his mouth again, and still no words came from his vocal cords. Pressing her finger to his lips again, Charlie stopped trying to speak, as Giselle's mouth parted.

"Oh, and you know I won't take no for an answer, so no need for words."

Removing her hands from his face and chest, she stalked away, shooting a small wink as she vanished around the corner, leaving the dragon keeper paralysed in the corridor.

- - -

"This is so exciting," Bella squeaked happily as she walked through the corridor, her fancy black shoes clicking with each step. "Ten years is so amazing in this day and age. It's lovely to be celebrating this with them."

"No doubt," Seth replied, straightening out his formal jacket with one hand as the other was looped with Bella's arm. "It's inspiration for couples."

"Definitely," agreed Bella, holding onto his arm tighter as they came closer to the entrance of the mess hall, walking through the wide-open doors.

The normal dominating long tables and benches had vanished for the night, being replaced by smaller round tables draped in red tablecloths, each one bearing a centrepiece which looked like a single white fairy glowing inside a small glass vase. Charmed candles floated above, moving about in a circular motion for a disco ball effect around the lilac sunset lit room. A dance floor had been cleared, the wood gleaming in a way Bella had never seen shine before. At the end of the room was a long table set up especially for Herb and Nisha, throne-like chairs garnished with flowers placed at it. From the first step one took into the room, it stole breath in a matter of a second.

"Oh, this is beautiful," Bella gasped, taking in the sight as soft tones of purple and red light graced it from the windows. "Absolutely beautiful. I think I'd want my wedding to look something like this."

"Take notes then," joked Seth with a smirk as the two walked in laughing together.

"I guess I should try to find Abby and compliment this decor," suggested Bella, still shaking her head in shock. "She was helping with the decorations, but this place is just above and beyond beauty."

"You do that, I'll get us something to drink," said Seth, letting go of Bella's arm and heading towards the refreshment table. "I'll be right back."

Wandering in a small radius, Bella's eyes scanned for the sight of Abby, hoping that she could flag down her roommate before the party started. Turning about full circle, there was no sight of the reserve's Healer, to Bella's surprise.

"Drat, I do wish I remembered what she was wearing," Bella scolded her poor memory as her eyes fell on the door.

A sea of men came through the door, huddled tight as they entered and dispersing like crashing waves once they were in. Both with their hands in their blank pants pockets, Simeon and Charlie had come in with the crowd, looking about the room not knowing exactly what to do. With a wave of her hand, Bella caught Charlie's attention as she walked over, nearly tripping in her shoes as she went.

"Hi," Charlie greeted his friend, welcoming her hug.

"Look at you all semi-formal," laughed Bella, her eyes alit as she fingered the collar of Charlie's burgundy shirt and ran her hand down his arm to his elbow where he'd rolled up the sleeves to. "This colour suits you."

Her eyes fell to Simeon, back in his signature dark colour from head to toe. He straightened up his back as she neared him, bowing his head a little once she was close enough.

"Evening, Miss Bella," said Simeon as he straightened up again, his gaze falling on her midnight blue off-shoulder shirt and black skirt. "You look lovely tonight."

"As do you," she smiled back, bringing her hand up to his face. "But you really should brush your bangs back a little bit."

Beginning from just above his right eyebrow, Bella's fingers ran across his forehead, pushing the hair that covered his small dark eyes away, trying to tuck them behind his ear only to realise they didn't quite reach. Dropping her small black purse on the floor, she licked her thumb and attempted the left side, finding her suggestion didn't quite work.

"Shame," she sighed heavily, holding his stray hairs back with her fingers on either side of his head. "You have such beautiful eyes. We should see them more often."

Letting go of his hair, the bangs fell back into their usual place over his eyes, Bella merely giving Simeon a weak smile in return. "Oh well, I guess it just wouldn't be you without your magnificent hidden eyes."

"Hello, look who you found," Seth approached the trio, holding two goblets of bubbly fruit punch, holding them out to Bella and Simeon. "I guess I should head back and get another two goblets. I'll be back in moment."

"I'll help you," offered Charlie, patting Seth on the back and leading him away towards the drinks table, winking in Simeon's direction as Bella raised her cup to his.

Manoeuvring through the heavy crowds of people as they poured in, Charlie directed Seth towards the refreshment table, grabbing two goblets already filled with the red bubbling drink. Before Seth could turn and head back towards Bella and Simeon, Charlie grabbed his shoulder.

"So, Seth," he began, catching the travelling researcher's attention, "how is that research going with the tears and all?"

"Oh, not so great," Seth replied, squinting up his face and shrugging his shoulders, "but I'm hopeful."

"Always good to be optimistic," nodded Charlie, taking a sip from his goblet while trying to think of something else to say. "Yep, always good."

"Oh, Abby," exclaimed Seth, looking over Charlie's shoulder. "Bella was looking for you earlier. Great decorations."

"Thanks," the familiar voice came up alongside the two men, a third goblet of refreshment entering the circle. "I think we did good."

Raising his head to meet Abby, Charlie couldn't believe the vision before him. Different from her usual casual sport style, she was dressed in clean sleek black pants and a sleeveless shirt in the exact same shade of green as her eyes. The old worn trainers that normally covered her feet had been replaced with low-heeled black sandals. Her long brunette hair hung loose instead of being tied up on her head, the locks framing her face nicely. She hadn't changed anything drastically about her appearance, but at the same time there was something not quite normal either.

"Hi Charlie," Abby smiled, seeing her best friend standing in front of her. "Nice shirt. The colour looks good on you."

"Thank you," Charlie spat out on habit with a nod, trying to come up with the right words to say to Abby. "You look...different."

"Is that a good thing?" she asked with a crooked half-smile, seeming to search his eyes for a hidden insult in his words.

"No, it's..." Charlie stammered, looking around him at the ceiling where candles were floating and casting white light around. "Maybe it's the light. I don't know."

Looking ahead to where Seth had only a moment ago been standing, Charlie realised the journalist researcher had escaped, and was already back at Bella's side as she conversed with Simeon. Cursing himself in his head, he wished he hadn't been distracted by Abby, but a little part of his mind that normally did, didn't feel the regret.

"They're on their way," Valerie Walters shouted over the crowd in her normal sonic boom of a voice as the doors to the mess hall closed and hid the party to anyone approaching from the hallway. "Everyone quiet down!"

The chatter of the room ceased, everyone waiting as they listened for the sound of Herb and Nisha's footsteps in the hallway. Herb's sister, Ingrid, had done her part of the plan and kept her brother and sister-in-law well out of the surprise's way, but without doubt, they'd be worried about dinner for the masses not being ready yet.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Herb's voice echoed in from the corridor, coming closer as if they were running towards the kitchens. "I'm sure there's something in the freezer we can heat up for everyone in a half hour. We've got soup, right?"

The doors to the mess hall sprung open, slamming against the wall to reveal the couple of the day. Freezing in their spots in shock, a bright white spotlight washed over them, illuminating their faces of complete disbelief.

"SURPRISE!"

- - -

It had taken a moment to revive Herb after he fainted on the spot, but once the celebrated couple had taken their places at the head of the table, it was clear the surprise had faded into delight judging by the size of their smiles. Once everyone had taken their seats at the small round tables, the sound of a spoon hitting glass tinkled through the new mess hall, catching attention as the fragile goblet shattered with a final tap.

"Oops," Herb laughed a bit, making a quick repair with his wand before bringing it to his throat and magnifying his voice to carry throughout the hall. "First off, thank you guys so much for this lovely party. It was a real surprise, as you could probably tell, and it is a beautiful gesture and effort that went into this and we thank you all immensely."

The crowd applauded during Herb's pause, giving each other high fives and thumbs up between the impacts of their hands. Raising up his palm, the cheers died down, allowing for their boss to speak again.

"Ten years is a very long time in one's life," Herb nodded towards the listening crowd. "For a lot of you that's half of your lifetime. But to me, it's my whole lifetime. I know, I know, I'm much older than all of you. It's my whole life because everything before I met Nisha seems to be a blur. When I met the lovely quiet Nisha Hundal in London fifteen years ago, the world changed for me, and life really began there.

"We worked together in dragon charities, raising funds in order to start a reserve for dragons, and I was introduced to a compassionate and loving woman, reserved in all her ways, but alluring nonetheless. I don't hesitate to say we became friends right away, and it was scary that one day when I crossed the friendly border and asked her out."

Charlie choked on his drink, letting out a small cough as the punch sputtered back into his goblet. The people at his table, Seth, Bella, Simeon and Abby, jolted up at the noise, giving him a curious glare as he set the goblet back down and turned back up to Herb's speech.

"Nisha, what more is there to say about you?" continued Herb, looking down at his wife where she sat blushing as red as her bright sari. "You're a beautiful person. You're compassionate and kind and giving. You're my best friend. And my life began the day you agreed to marry me."

Bending down so they met face to face, the couple kissed. Nisha's hands held Herb's stubbly chin as his lips gently met with hers, the onlookers letting out a long sigh for the brief moment.

"That was so beautiful," whimpered Bella, wiping her teary eyes with a single finger. "Beautiful speech."

As the employees clapped furiously, Nisha and Herb broke apart, laughing as their foreheads bumped softly. Herb moved to take his seat again, only to have his wife pointing towards his wand curiously.

"Oh, sorry dear," Herb apologised quickly, both of them rising from their chairs.

The crowd grew quiet, wondering what was going on for that moment, as Herb pressed the tip of his wand to Nisha's vocal cords. Hush fell over, as the lady of the day cleared her throat.

"I thought she was mute," Seth confessed, shrugging his shoulders as he looked to Bella for an explanation. "She's never spoken before."

"You haven't been around for very long," rationalised Bella as she placed her hand atop of Seth's, Simeon letting out a low growl beneath his breath.

"Thank you, so very much, everyone," Nisha spoke in a soft flowing voice, bowing her head lightly. "This is a very beautiful event, and there are no words to describe how magical it is. Celebrating the day of our marriage is very special and we cannot imagine celebrating this without all of you.

"Marrying Herbert was the best thing I ever did with my life. My husband is the greatest man I have ever met and it broke my heart when I first told him I could not marry him."

Everybody gasped, eyes widening around the room. Abby clutched at her chest, feeling her heart skip a beat in the shock.

"I thought Herb deserved more than a Squib wife," explained Nisha, her dark eyes glistening as she continued, looking right at her equally teary husband, "who could never perform any magic like he could."

"That is so sad." Bella let out a gigantic sob, grabbing Seth's handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wiping away her tears along with most of the ladies in the audience.

"But, Herb argued I could do magic." A tear rolled down Nisha's cheek. "He said I cast a spell on his heart, and that it would never be broken or fade away. I could not say no after that, even if my parents refused permission. Sometimes, one has to take a large risk to show God how much we care, and we are rewarded with all we can imagine. I will never regret that risk."

A third of the hall had burst into tears by the end of the story, deafening applause from the other two thirds being the only thing to drown out the sniffles and sobs. Nearly everyone stood and clapped as Nisha and Herb's lips met again, Herb grabbing his beloved and dipping her horizontally. From the corner of Simeon's eye, he saw two people had not stood at his table, Bella squeezing Seth's hand tightly as her tight-lipped smile graced his eyes.

"Enough chatter, time to dance," Herb declared, grabbing a hold of his wife's hand and leading her onto the highly polished dance floor.

Taking the cue, Ethan Goldstein pointed his wand towards at a set of unplugged speakers. A jet of white light hit them, and immediately the jazzy warble of Celestina Warbeck filled the room as if the singing sorceress were performing a live show. Twirling his only love into his arms, Herb led a slow dance to the flowing music, frequently stopping to kiss the tip of his wife's nose as others from the tables rose and joined them.

"My parents used to dance to this tune," Charlie commented, recognizing 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love' instantly. "Every Christmas when I was little, they'd wind up waltzing around the tree."

"I think mine did too," chuckled Seth. "Claire and I always made gagging noises whenever they kissed. Actually, we still do."

Bella and Abby began to laugh at the thought, Charlie having to cover his mouth so Simeon wouldn't see him smiling over his competition's comment. Leaning back in his seat with crossed arms, Simeon looked thoroughly bored with the party. Had it not been for the dark glaring eyes fixating their stare on Bella and Seth as he continued with his funny anecdotes, Charlie would have assumed his friend was asleep in his chair in spite of the loud music by varied magical artists.

"Don't look now, Charlie, but I think someone is eying you across the room," pointed out Bella with a giggle, making Charlie look over his shoulder and towards the dance floor out of curiosity.

Sure enough, a young lady wearing a knee-length pink strapless dress was making a beeline for Charlie's table. With blonde hair piled atop her head to show off the gold that glittered on her ears and around her neck, there was no doubt as to who it was keeping her cerulean blue gaze on her prize. Charlie diverted his gaze away, turning towards his neighbour, Abby; in hope that the lady headed for him would see he was busy.

"Hello Charlie," Giselle strolled up anyway, not allowing Charlie to get a single word out of his mouth.

"Hi, Giselle," replied Charlie, politely making eye contact with Herb's one and only niece.

"Would you be so kind as to accompany me on this dance?" she asked, holding out her hand for him to take while also showing off her perfect pink nails. "Remember, you owe me one. I don't take no for an answer, if you recall"

"Oh, this should be entertaining," Abby laughed, resting her chin on her fingers as she watched Charlie inquisitively.

With a reluctant sigh, he rose from his seat, taking Giselle's hand and moving her onto the dance floor. Putting one hand on her waist, she was fast in correcting him, pushing his arm lower so it came to sit on her hip. As the music played, Charlie took the first step to lead, only to realise his dance partner had taken the initiative and trotted him around the floor, much to his friends' amusement as they laughed out loud.

"So...Bella..." Simeon started, catching the researcher's attention while Seth was distracted with the awkward dancing going on in front of them.

"Oh, I love this song," sighed Seth, Bella's eyes going back to him instantly.

"It's one of my favourites too," Bella gaped clutching her heart before dropping her hand back into her lap.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go for it," Seth declared, getting up from his chair and offering his hand to the fair lady.

Taking up his offer right away, Bella and Seth were on the floor in a matter of seconds, hand on hand, shoulder, and waist, as they quick stepped around other couples. Laughing as they danced goofily, Bella frequently stepped on Seth's foot and making them chuckle all the more. Eying them closely, Simeon got out of his chair and stood next to Abby, still giggling over Giselle leading Charlie in a dance.

"Miss Ridges, may I?" he asked, holding his hand out for her to take.

Abby glanced upwards, taken back that a hand was only inches away from her nose. Looking to her side, she didn't see any other Ridges that Simeon could have been talking to. Looking from Simeon's dark profile down his arm and into his hand, her shaky palm hovered over his. "Um...okay..."

Gently helping Abby out of her seat, Simeon made fast work of getting onto the dance floor. Elegantly taking her waist, he led her gracefully across the floor, their steps moving like flowing liquid across the floor. With most of his attention directed towards another couple on the floor, Simeon's talent was completely natural, astonishing his dance partner as much as the rest of the crowd, some who had halted their own dancing to observe the auras Fred and Ginger cutting the rug.

"Amazing," Bella gasped as Seth and her stopped to watch.

"Wow, didn't know you two had it in you," Herb clapped. "You should be in competitions."

With his eyes on the new couple that had hit the floor, Charlie could barely follow Giselle, much to her annoyance. Her eyes glared over her shoulder, seeing her dance partner's two best mates attracting Charlie's attention. Swirling him around so he couldn't face them, Charlie retaliated quickly, swerving back around so it was Giselle's back to them.

"I sense you're not very comfortable with me, Charlie," Giselle stated quite obviously, forcing his eyes to lie on her at last. "Do you not like me very much?"

"No, I think you're fine," he answered quickly to dispel her thoughts.

"Oh, you don't have to lie around me, Charlie," she said with a heavy long sigh, breaking her hold on him and dropping her arms. "I come on quite strongly, I'm well aware. Sometimes it chases people away, and I don't mean to be so forward. It's just hard to make friends sometimes and you seemed so nice the first day I met you. I really did hope we could be friends. Maybe that's why I tried so hard to get to know you more."

Charlie swallowed hard, trying to keep the guilt welling up inside his stomach from coming up. Looking down into Giselle's sad blue eyes as they welled with fresh moist tears, he couldn't help but feel bad for being rude towards her considering her intentions for friendship.

"Oh, Giselle, I'm sorry for being so inconsiderate," Charlie shook his head shamefully, brushing back his ginger-coloured bangs. "I do hope we can be friends."

"Oh, Charlie," Giselle sobbed, grabbing his waist and hugging him tightly.

Putting his hands around Giselle, Charlie held her, the guilt in his chest slowly plummeting back down and easing into calm just as the song ended. From the top of his eyes, Simeon and Abby had ended their dance to overwhelming applause, both of them glistening with sweat in the light of the candles.

"Would everyone clear the floor for Nisha and Herb's last dance of the night," Rolf requested, as another slow dance came over the speakers. "Thank you all for making this wonderful and Happy Tenth Anniversary to the happy couple once again."

The people flooded to move off of the highly polished floor, leaving Herb and Nisha looking into each other's eyes as the instrumental introduction to the song began. Holding each other's hand, they went into their dance position, merely swaying softly as the latest song from The Weird Sisters filled the atmosphere.

_And dance your final dance  
This is your final chance  
To hold the one you love  
You know you've waited long enough_

"I'm glad we had this chat, Charlie," Giselle whispered below the next verse, giving him a smile as she walked away between the hoards of people around them, slipping away quickly before Charlie could wave goodnight.

Looking back to the table where he had been sitting originally, his four friends had crowded around it, Abby using a white linen napkin to wipe her forehead dry as they watched the celebrated couple sway gently to the voice of Myron Wagtail. Meeting her eyes from across the room, she waved slightly towards him, giving a bashful grin as she continued to towel herself down.

Without even moving the slightest, it suddenly felt warmer to Charlie, the rising heat of everyone's bodies in the room as well as his own dance beginning to take effect on his own temperature.

_So, believe that magic works  
Don't be afraid  
Of bein' hurt  
No, don't let this magic die  
Ooh, the answer's there  
Yeah, just look in her eyes_

Glancing back in their direction, Bella and Seth had linked arms, beginning to head towards the exit with Abby following behind them. With her tiny purse thrown over her shoulder, she looked towards the dance floor and the couple swaying in the moving lights. Her remaining sweaty skin blended with standing under the light of the candles swirling overhead, Abby seemed to glow as she watched Herb and Nisha dance gently, staring at them with a glazed look in her eyes. With a silent sigh, she turned towards Charlie again, mouthing, "goodnight," in his direction. Brushing her stray straggles of hair out of the way, she moved out the door and out of sight.

_And don't believe that magic can die  
No, no, no, this magic can't die  
So dance your final dance  
'Cause this is your final chance_

The song ended, allowing for the mess hall to clear out, Herb and Nisha thanking everyone as they walked out with smiles across their faces and leaving the cleaning crew to draw their wands. Vanishing the round tables and tablecloths away, the long tables and benches returned, going right on top of the dance floor. Putting out and vanishing the candles away, Charlie let out a long sigh, audible by Simeon as he stood by the door waiting for his roommate to finish.

"Vhat is wrong?" Simeon grunted sleepily.

"Oh, nothing," Charlie took his head as the last candle disappeared into the thin air. "Just tired, I guess."

Shrugging his shoulders, Simeon held the door open for Charlie, both of them leaving the tidied party room just as it was before anything had happened. Closing the doors behind them, the magic of the night was complete.

- - -

Running a clean bath towel through her clean wet hair, Abby quietly entered her room, the lights already turned off as Bella slept soundly. The door closed in a soft click, being sure she took careful precautions in walking towards her desk in the dark, only the small light from the moon guiding her steps. Hanging the towel over her chair, she sat down running her fingers through her locks and untangling bits as she went before removing her wand from the pocket of her bathrobe. A quick tap to her forehead dried her hair almost instantly and without a noise much to her approval.

"Mmm..." Bella moaned in her sleep as she turned from her side onto her back, having a good dream from the size of her smile. "I love this song."

Abby turned back to what she was doing, looking down over her desk where her eyes fell upon the bottom drawer stuffed to the top with letters and other memories she didn't want to remember and had tucked away. Kicking it with her foot, it couldn't close all the way, sticking out a bit with paper spilling from the top, the drawer overfilled and leaking with remembrance.

"I should get rid of all that," Abby sighed, getting up from the desk, contemplating the idea of emptying the entire drawer's contents into her dustbin and burning it into ash.

Her mind left the thought, the idea being drowned out in her brain by the sound of a loud siren echoing through her mind instead. Walking over to the window and the star filled night she searched the outdoors for the source of the noise, only to find the sky was barely visible. Rather than a clear endless universe of a full moon and stars, it was a cloudy dark grey, almost black outside. 

Curious to the odd weather and the deafening alarm, Abby flipped the latch of her window, and stuck her head out into the outside night air. Taking a whiff from the atmosphere, it didn't smell quite like the usual dewy moisture, but rather like someone had forgotten they were cooking.

Peering out farther beyond the dormitory buildings around the courtyard, she could see what the cause of it all was. As instantly as her eyes fell upon it, lights in the dormitory rooms across from her window began to flicker awake, people rising from their beds in response to the emergency call they could all hear and knew well enough.

There was fire in the dragon's domain.

**A/N:** Sorry for the cliffhanger. I have to put something in there once in a while to make you beg for more now, don't I? I'm entitled!

Quite likely this is the longest chapter in the story, I think. Either this or the next, can't quite recall from the top of my head.

And who would have known, Nisha can talk.

Of course, the song "Magic Works" is from the fourth Harry Potter movie!

And seat yourselves for the action of the next chapter.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two: Fire and Fight

**teacher123:** Always so encouraging to hear from you. I posted the previous chapter knowing the next would have to follow sooner than later. Actually, when I originally wrote these chapters back in 2005, I wrote them in a few sittings over a few nights cause I couldn't wait either.

**RubeusHagrid34:** You're so sweet. I do hope the writing gets better as it progresses through. As I mentioned, this whole story was written originally some years ago and it hasn't really been edited other than for typo glitches that previous reviewers noted, so thank you.

- - -

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Fire and Fight**

"Charlie, vake up. Vake up."

Mid-snore, the redheaded dragon keeper jolted awake, feeling his roommate's boot impact with his stomach. Bolting up in his bottom bunk, his head slammed into the top bed, letting a curse slip from his tongue as he fell back on his pillow with a pounding pain in his forehead.

"For Merlin sakes, Simeon," Charlie yelled, pushing his hands to his head in hopes it would dull the throbbing, "what was that for?"

"Get up," commanded Simeon, throwing Charlie his yellow Weasley sweater.

"What for?" questioned Charlie as he slowly slumped onto the floor with the sweater lying in his lap.

Simeon didn't say a word, allowing for the distant alarm to speak for itself. As the ringing in his ears from the impact with the bed died away, the other alarm magnified in volume. Recognizing the emergency call for help, it made Charlie jump to his feet, forget about his head injury and throw the sweater over his body.

"Let's go," he declared simply, not bothering to throw on proper shoes or clothes as he ran out into the hallway in slippers and his pyjama pants alongside Simeon.

Joining their fellow co-workers in the corridor, many still in their sleepwear, everyone rushed out of the building, flying down the flights of stairs, and running out into the midnight air. Above their heads, billowing clouds of thick grey smoke waved through the air, the sight making them freeze in their spots for a second before being prodded along by people behind them running onto the scene. Breaking into sprints across the courtyard, the workers headed straight into the main building, rushing through the halls to get to the dragon's domain as fast as their legs could carry them, barely noting where they were running as they followed those ahead of them.

Finally bursting through the doors of the equipment room and up to the closed gate, the source of the fire was clear. Before the eyes of all who had come running to the scene, two dragons were in the air, blowing streams of fire towards each other as they growled and hissed maliciously. Against the hazy smoke that rose from the growing fire beneath their wings, the golden horns of the Romanian Longhorn lunged towards the breast of the Hungarian Horntail, the swift dragon quickly dodging the attack.

"Oh Merlin," gasped a familiar voice that had come behind Charlie. 

Looking behind him, Abby had appeared along with a crowd, her green eyes opened wide enough to fall from their sockets as her hand rushed to cover her gaping mouth. Next to her, Bella hadn't bothered to raise her hand, standing in the masses dumbfounded by the sight reflecting from her hazel eyes.

"Let me through! Let me through!" the voice of Herb came rushing through the crowd, people shoving their neighbours to the side to make room for their boss to come and observe the horror going on.

Wearing a navy bathrobe over his pyjamas, Herb waddled out in his slippers, pushing past his employees to reach the front of the mob before looking upward at the battling dragons as they snapped and lunged towards each other. Frozen in his spot for only a second, he quickly turned to his employees, stumbling for the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"Listen! Listen up!" he finally spat out, his voice cracking and breaking, before he had the idea to take his wand out and point it to his throat. "Listen! Everyone remain calm!"

The resounding roar of the Hungarian Horntail silenced the crowd, and Herb as well as he spun around to see the mighty beast swerve to avoid a snap from his worthy opponent.

"We need to act fast!" Valerie's voice came over the crowd, deciding to act while Herb stood frozen in his place. She walked forward in her normal army pants and white tank, as if she were a sergeant readying troops for a combat battle. "We need to be ready before we rush in! Researchers, you will be putting out the fires! Keepers, have your wands at the ready! Go get some equipment! And some brooms! We may need to take to the air! Go!"

At her very command, those huddling near the doors of the equipment room rushed back in, grabbing anything in their sights that looked as though it could be of some kind of use. Passing around equipment, there was no possibility of having all their regular tools at their disposal, everyone grabbing what they could and being grateful for bringing their wands.

"Keepers come ahead!" barked Valerie, pulling a few of the awe struck dragon keepers by their nightshirts forward. "We need to go in ahead! Those putting out the fires, go in behind us! And everyone cast a fireproof charm on their clothing if possible!"

With a nod of her head, Abby touched Bella's shoulder, leading the speechless researcher to the back as she pulled her oak wand from her back pocket. Splashes of water emitted from the tip in spurts, the charm already in her mind and ready for action. Gently pushing Bella forward through a gap in the crowd, her head turned towards the gate and her eyes falling on the back of a redhead throwing rope over his arm while the opposing hand gripped his wand tightly.

"Keep moving back, Abby," gestured Seth, pointing in the direction Bella had gone. "You don't want to get hurt. Let's move along. Quick."

Grabbing the hand of his Healer friend, he led her away to the back of the crowd and safety with other fire fighters. Charlie glanced behind him with a turn of his head, hoping in vain to see familiar green eyes only to realise there was no trace of the owner of them.

"At attention, Weasley!" Valerie snapped, stamping on his slippers with her boot, making him bite his lip to prevent a noise. "And I'd transfigure those if I were you."

"He is not you," Simeon sneered through tight lips. "And it is a good thing too."

"I don't need your remarks, Slovensky, we have two dragons trying to tear each other limb from limb," bellowed Valerie, her brown eyes aflame and spitting dangerous sparks.

"Keep moving then," Simeon commented calmly, removing his wand from his pocket and changing Charlie's slippers into appropriate footwear.

Stomping away with a nasty scowl across her face, she continued along the ranks, stepping on bare toes as she went. Thick waves of tension swept over the masses, everyone breathing deeply as the last of the men were checked safety wise.

"Be safe in there," Charlie muttered to Simeon, swallowing hard as he took one final glance over his shoulder and rolled up the sleeves of his yellow jumper.

"Same to you," replied Simeon, readjusting the grip on his wand, his shoulders becoming tense and straight.

"We rush in together!" announced Valerie, approaching the locked and shielded gates, her wand poised to unlock it. "Follow in and have your wands at the ready! Failure to obey instructions could prove fatal."

The sound of many men swallowing entered Charlie's ears, knowing they only did so to keep their lungs from being coughed up. Even without the use of his ears, he could feel the fear running high in the air mixed with the clouds of smoke. They had been trained to handle situations similar to this, but years of endless practicing could never have prepared them for the real thing.

Valerie's wand inched forward towards the lock of the gate, prepared to lift the spell that protected the keeper from the beast's flames that wildly burned away. With held breath, the crowd waited for the wand to make contact to the lock, a secret prayer that Valerie's wand would snap in two pieces echoing over the masses in silence. Her shaking hand skipped the gate once and twice, missing it by inches until the slender wood slipped into the appropriate hole, making the blue haze fall and the metal gate click before slowly creaking open.

Waves of heat and smoke rushed out of the dragon's domain, smacking the faces of the front line like the large palm of some school bully. Bright flares of red and orange danced about in front of their eyes, making the lot squint at the sight as they began to rush in behind the lead of Valerie, who had wasted no time on getting in a piece of action. Giant coughs and gasps for cool air began to scream against the sweating ears, the keepers diving to either their left or right as they entered in order to avoid the flames, making way for the ones behind them to extinguish their deadly dance.

"AGUAMENTI!" the researchers called together, water jetting in waves out of their many wands in unison, dousing the flames with what didn't evaporate in the sweltering atmosphere.

The fire receded back only by a few inches, scorched brown Earth being revealed once the flames retreated. Another river of water rushed forward to the flames, cutting through it like a sharp dagger to make two smaller burning areas. The researchers immediately divided themselves, taking responsibility for the patches of flames they were creating and quickly attempting to put out.

Staying close to the wall, the keepers sighed relief as the intensity of the heat lightened and the smoke thinned. Through the grey clouds, the silhouettes of the battling dragons could be seen, the Hungarian Horntail trying to take a chunk off of the Longhorn's wing just as the dark green beast dodged.

"Get the rope!" the sound of Valerie's voice came over the flames. 

"Rope!" Rolf's bellow followed.

"Come on Charlie," Sebastian Linden prodded the redheaded keeper from behind, urging him to move forward. "We have rope. Let's go."

Looking down at his shoulder and seeing the coiled length of rope slung on his arm, Charlie made fast work of running past the flames to just beneath the dragons as they snarled and snapped at one another. Huddling along with the others carrying the needed equipment, it was difficult to remove his hazel stare from the fighting beasts.

"On the count of three," Valerie began to explain over the roars and nips the dragons took, catching Charlie's attention, "we're going to guide our ropes upwards! Grab whatever dragon your rope is closer to! Hopefully we can bring down one at least!"

"Hopefully?" Rien Heiman blurted out.

"On three," Valerie repeated, dropping her own coil of rope to the ground and removing her long wand.

Everyone in the circle dropped their lines and followed suite, getting ready for their next daring move. Looking over his shoulder in a quick glance, other keepers waited on the sidelines, ready to jump in and pull the dragons down on command while researchers continued their effort to douse the remaining flames as they shrunk with every passing second. Back in the huddle, Charlie withdrew his wand, holding it steady to his cord.

"One," counted Valerie, everyone's wand tip illuminating with the spell in mind. "Two."

Charlie closed his eyes tightly for a second, taking a deep breath in as his wand hand steadied carefully over the rope. A pair of leaf-coloured eyes he could remember vividly shot through his mind, the beautifully familiar irises being all he could see for the single second.

"Three!" shouted Valerie, a spark from each wand bringing the ropes to life and shooting them into the air like a mass of snakes.

Straight into the air, the lines rose high above their heads, cutting through the thinning smoke. Guided by the flicks of many wands, the headed straight for the nearest dragon, the Hungarian Horntail. Wrapping themselves around the neck and appendages of the mighty beast, the cords quickly tied, the creature attempting to shake them off in order to continue dodging the Longhorn's advances.

"Grab the ropes!" Rolf called out, grabbing the attention of the keepers from the sidelines.

The remaining keepers, who weren't stunned to the point of immobility, rushed forward and grabbed the ropes. Tugging on the line, the men fell onto their backs, attempting to use the power of their weight as well as upper body strength to bring down the beast. Spikes drove the ends of the cord into the ground, stabilising the effort as they continued to pull.

Resisting the strength of the ropes, the Hungarian Horntail attempted escape unsuccessfully, trying to wriggle himself out of the binds put on him. The Romanian Longhorn pressed the advantage given by the keepers, swooping down on the Horntail and whipping his tail into the opponent's head. As the keepers kept pulling and driving the ropes into the ground with spikes, the Hungarian Horntail sunk closer to the ground, only a few metres above their heads.

"Get out your wands!" Valerie instructed as the Romanian Longhorn backed off from his tail whippings and flew high above the Horntail, seeming to mock his imprisoned rival. "Stunning spells!"

Letting go of the cords, the entire team grabbed their wands and directed them straight at the dragon. "STUPEFY!"

About fifty jets of light sprung from fifty different wands, hitting the dragon's scales and exploding into mini fireworks on his skin. The Horntail bellowed in pain as the spells penetrated his thick hide, making his large yellow eyes droop slightly and his wings beat slower than they had been only a second before. His entire body hovering above the keepers swayed as the spell took effect, the threat of many tonnes ready to fall dangling over them like a fragile Christmas ornament on a weak branch of the tree.

"Out of the way!" called Rolf as the dragon's body sunk a little.

The keepers dashed back, running towards the walls for safety as the Horntail continued to descend beneath its own weight. Grabbing the collars of their lagging companions, the men pressed against the wall, shielding their eyes from possible debris. Behind the extinguishing fires, the researchers crouched on the warm scorched earth, covering their heads as if an earthquake were to hit.

The dragon landed on the ground with a thunderous crash, the earth rumbling as dust, ash, dirt and small rocks flew out from beneath its body. Coughing up the dry dust, the keepers rustled the debris off of themselves, barely being able to see the person next to them as the thick waves settled slowly.

"Simeon," Charlie coughed, seeing a small patch of black through the dirt storm.

"I'm okay," responded the Bulgarian in a voice no louder than a whisper, followed by a few rasping coughs.

As the dust fell to the ground, the keepers saw the Hungarian Horntail before them, the huge creature lying still in the ashes from the fire it had co-created. The deadly features of the dangerous beast lay dormant, nowhere near as harmful as they slept silently on a stunned dragon.

The last of the fires were put out fast, the dust and debris having helped put out many of the small ones in the quake. As the smoke vanished into the midnight air, once again revealing the moon and stars, there was nothing but sighs of relief from both researchers and keepers.

"Is anyone injured?" Seth's voice came over the crowd, running towards the keepers by the wall to see if anyone was in need if a bone mend or scrape sealing charm.

"Just bumps and bruises," answered Gustavo Garcia as he scanned over a few of his nearby co-workers. "I think we're all..."

A deafening roar interrupted before Gustavo could finish his sentence, everyone turning their attention to the skies where the Romanian Longhorn circled above.

"The other dragon," gasped Rolf, hitting his forehead.

Before anything else could be said amongst the workers, the Longhorn swooped upwards in the sky and turned down sharply, diving towards the earth and the Hungarian Horntail. The golden horns shimmered brightly in the moonlight ready to gore anything that came into its pathway.

"Everyone hit the deck!" warned Herb in his loudest possible voice.

As fast as they could, whether they had heard their boss or not, the keepers put their stomachs to the wall, sheltering their heads and eyes while the researchers, still far enough out of the way, ducked. Preparing for another set of flying debris with a quake, they braced for the worst.

The dragon's dive swerved upwards slightly before it could reach the Horntail, as if he had been Viktor Krum playing his famous Wronski Feint at the World Cup of Quidditch. Hovering over the burnt grass where the researchers lay in their smallest possible positions, the dragon lowered itself to the ground landing delicately on two feet near some researchers.

The field had become completely silent, no keeper or researcher daring to inhale or risk any sudden movement. Everyone remained as still as they could, silently praying inside of their heads for the dragon to take flight again, or not realise that there were young vulnerable humans around his feet.

Sniffing the air above his fallen opponent with his long dark green snout, the Romanian Longhorn snorted a small puff of smoke from his nostrils. A low growl emitted from his mouth, pleased with his default victory. Roaring upwards to the sky, his long wings began to beat, stirring the dust beneath him. Stamping his feet to the ground in preparation to take off, someone broke the vow of silence.

"Bella, look out! Move!"

"Bella?" two voices from either of Charlie's sides echoed, both spinning around to face the dust storm with unprotected eyes.

A high-pitched scream realised the worst of all fears. Leaving the dust storm behind, the dragon took back to the air, with Bella hanging by her shirt that had snagged one of the talons of the beast's toe. She screamed furiously, clinging to the nail of the creature for dear life as she soared overhead.

"BELLA!" both Simeon and Seth shouted, running past the rest of the keepers and after the dragon, seeming to hope they could catch up to the beast.

"Bring up the spikes and untie the ropes around the Horntail!" directed Valerie, pointing towards the unconscious black dragon. "We'll need them to bring down the Longhorn."

Ahead of everyone else, Simeon and Seth continued to run under the beating of the dragon's wings as it circled around victoriously. Out of breath and aching in most places around their body, they gasped for air, stopping suddenly in their tracks as if something had hit them both hard.

"Accio broom!" both of them called at the exact same moment; summoning the nearest Comet or Shooting Star their wands could muster.

One old Nimbus 1000 rushed ahead for the job, speeding through the crowd and over the stunned dragon, but halting a metre away from Seth and Simeon. Stopping dead, it didn't merely fall to the ground, but hovered between the two men, incapable of deciding which one to go to.

"Accio," they shouted again in unison, flicking their wands at it again.

The broom twitched, swaying from right to left as if it were being manipulated by the nonexistent wind. Shaking about, the old broom wavered, before finally deciding to go to the right and be mounted by Simeon Slovensky.

Pushing off as hard as he could, Simeon headed straight for the dragon, leaving Seth to summon another broom to get him into flight. Nearing the dragon's underbelly, he flew to Bella's side, watching her helplessly cling to the toe of the dragon, gripping her fingers under some rough green scales.

"Simeon!" Bella wailed; her cheeks stained with frightened tears as she hugged the toe of the dragon tightly. "Simeon, I hate flying! I hate flying!"

"It is okay, Miss Bella," Simeon nodded in her direction, bringing his broom in closer to her. "You vill be fine. I vill help you."

Bella shut her eyes and nodded, letting more fresh tears leak from under her eyelids and fall down to the ground far below her dangling feet.

"Please, Miss Bella, your hand," Simeon reached out her, thinking he could take her and pull her away from the dragon's foot.

"No, no," Bella shook her head shamefully. "I can't." 

"You must," responded Simeon, stretching his hand a little farther, trying to get as close as possible. "I vill not let you fall, I promise you."

"Take his hand, Bella," a third voice entered the conversation.

Looking to her other side, Seth was flying on the other side of the Romanian Longhorn's claw, a Shooting Star keeping him in the air. Parallel to Simeon, he nodded to Bella, giving her a reassuring look.

"You have to take his hand," argued Seth forcefully over the air as they flew along with speed.

"But, I can't," rebutted Bella. "My shirt is caught."

With little else to say to her rescuers, another burst of tears flowed freely down her face. Seth neared closer to the grasping Bella, close enough to reach out and brush the water away from her cheeks.

"Stay vith her," Simeon instructed the other man on the broom.

Seth didn't have time to ask a single question as Simeon sped forward, heading towards the head of the dragon, much to his companion's shock. Accelerating on the broom, he reached into his back pocket and took out his wand before pulling the handle of the Nimbus up and coming right in front of the dragon's eyes.

The Romanian Longhorn stopped in surprise at seeing the little moving black dot in front of him, stopping in the air and letting his legs swing. Bella let out a scream at the sudden shudder, Seth nearly loosing control of his broom as the dragon's foot kicked him a few feet away from Bella.

"Simeon, are you crazy?" Seth shouted in the moment, rushing back to Bella's side. "You're going to get killed."

Not hearing the journalist researcher, Simeon raised his wand above his head. Uttering the spell inside silently, his hand thrust forward and light sprung from the tip of the wand, headed right for the dragon's eyes.

A resounding howl of pain came from the mouth of the dragon, flames spilling out of his snout as Simeon ducked away, diving down to avoid the prospect of the broom catching on fire. The dragon jerked and twitched about in agony, sending Seth and Bella swerving about with the foot.

In a final kick of the creature's foot, the front of Bella's shirt released itself from the grasp of the talon in the same moment her hands gave away. Free falling down towards the ground, she let out an ear-piercing scream as Seth dove down on his broom. Following Bella downward, he picked up the speed. With every second, he drew closer until he was finally beneath her, letting her fall into his arms safely, still many metres above the rocky floor of the dragon's domain.

Looking up at Seth, Bella's hazel eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell limp in his arms.

"Is she all right?" Simeon asked immediately, coming alongside Seth and looking at the still beauty in his arms. "Is she...?"

"She's just fainted," explained Seth calmly, feeling her wrist and finding a weakened pulse. "She'll be fine."

The dragon's powerful roar made the two men snap back to attention, the creature beginning to shake the Conjunctivitus curse off and realise there was yet another opponent other than the Horntail to take care of. Rearing its ugly head towards Simeon and Seth, the two were forced to move fast with the unconscious Bella still lying in Seth's arms and an angry dragon on their tails. Speeding back towards the rest of the researchers and keepers with their readied ropes to drag the Longhorn down, the two seemed to know precisely what to do, allowing themselves to fly directly over the keepers and bring the dragon close.

"Go!" went Valerie, repeating the same procedure that had happened with the Horntail.

The lines took to the air again, wrapping themselves around the Longhorn just as they had done before as spikes drove into the ground to help the keepers pull. With every muscle in the body in use, the keepers tugged as the Longhorn tried to resist, easily pulling up one of the spikes and sending the keepers from that end flying head on into the brick wall.

"We need more hands," someone called out, the lady researchers running forward to do what they could.

Charlie fell onto his back with a few of the other men, trying to bring the dragon down close enough to stun. Impediment jinxes flew about the air, hoping it would slow the beast's resistance to their pulling while the researchers grabbed hold of the closest ropes to add what strength they could. Running past Charlie and as far ahead as she could before the cord became too high to reach for, Abby grasped on with both of her bare hands, yanking down with the help of those behind her.

"Abby," Charlie called out to his friend, making her turn to see him pulling along with her. "You okay?"

"Never better," she answered calmly, though her face and clothes were marked with black ash and shimmering sweat. Letting out a long grunt, she tugged on the rope, her hands burning as they rubbed against the unbreakable fibres.

The stray line burrowed back into the ground with another spike, bringing the dragon closer with every tug until he was finally close enough to be stunned. Releasing their grasp on the cords, wands withdrew again, more than fifty stunning spells making contact with the dragon's scaly body.

"Move back!" a voice from the crowd called as the dragon began to wobble from his wingspan. "Everyone get back."

Seizing Abby's hand in his own, Charlie lunged forward with the crowd, running along and out of harms way. Over the burnt earth and dead grass, they headed as far as they could before the dragon hit the ground and made it rumble, as if thunder had hit it. Hitting the ground, the whole group covered their heads from the danger as dust flew over them, blanketing them like a desert storm in the Sahara.

As the earthquake died away, the masses of researchers and keepers rose from the ground, the dust and debris falling off of their bodies as they stood straight up again, groaning in aches and pains in every muscle. Rustling ashes from his bright red hair, Charlie spun around to see the Healer spitting out dust that had entered her mouth.

"Some night, huh?" Charlie muttered, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Quite," replied Abby, moving the large clumps of stray hair away from her eyes as she stood, exposing her bloody scraped knees through her pyjama pants.

Over the crowds, people were rising from their places, stumbling towards the gate and the main building as if returning from a long war. Using their friends for support, they slowly walked along, too sore to stand on their own two feet.

"Everyone to the infirmary," Abby called out as loud as she could without a wand pressed to her throat as she began to make her own way out of the dragon's domain. "The night isn't over yet."

- - -

Quick repairs were needed all around as researchers and keepers alike trickled into the hospital wing with cuts and bruises of all shapes and sizes. With a line going right out the door, it was necessary to recruit anyone who knew a little bit about mending open wounds to help and get the patients done as fast as possible. Seth, Tamara and Li Ming had set up with disinfectant solutions and wands, repairing any cut the people had before sending them off with a piece of chocolate made with calming draught to rid themselves of the few aches while Abby had the rest of the infirmary dedicated to those who had more major injuries. Rushing about with her own bloody knees untouched, she went around from bed to bed, fixing broken bones and handing out ice packs to those who had hit their heads on the wall.

Furthest away from the crowds at the entrance, Bella had been tucked under a white sheet, peacefully sleeping off the shock of the night and resting with Simeon sitting at her side. Often removing the cloth from her forehead to remoisten it in a bowl of cool water, he tenderly kept his eyes fixed on her, waiting patiently for her to reawaken from her deep slumber.

"It could take a while, Simeon," informed Charlie as he stood behind the chair where his best friend sat and waited. "You've had a long night, and you did good. You should get some rest now."

"I am fine," replied Simeon, brushing his friend's concerns away while touching his arm where he had been cut and mended.

Making her way back around, Abby came to Bella's side, gently opening one of her roommate's hazel eyes with the pad of her finger and feeling for a pulse with her other hand. Without a word, she walked away again, visiting the next patient without flinching at anything that inflicted them.

"I think we're done up here, Abby," Seth reported, gesturing to vanished line-up, everyone seeming to have been taken care of.

"Thank you," Abby nodded with a small smile. "You can go back to bed. Help yourself to the chocolate. It'll help induce some sleep and all."

Tamara and Li Ming left at the suggestion, both of them yawning exhaustedly as they went out the door with a piece of chocolate in hand each. Touching Abby's shoulder, Seth stopped her from going on to the next patient.

"Abby, have a seat," he said, pointing towards her scabbed legs. "Let me take a look at those."

"They're fine," Abby shook her head in reluctance. "I really need to keep making the rounds."

"Slow down girl," Seth stopped her before she could move again. "You're of no use to patients if you're not well yourself. You know better than anyone that open wounds like that can cause infection. Sit yourself down here and I am going to repair those scrapes up quickly."

Pushing her down into the sitting position on an empty bed, Seth kneeled on the floor, taking out a swab of disinfectant solution while holding one of Abby's knees still. Brushing the wound with the purple liquid, Abby could barely bring herself to flinch. She could feel the sting, but her eyes told the tale of her weariness, disabling her ability to cringe in pain.

The door to the infirmary opened, letting in the man with a navy bathrobe over his pyjamas. His blue eyes darted around the room almost astonished to see there were very few people there after the night they had been living. With a sigh of relief, he approached the bed where Abby sat.

"Been a busy night?" he asked calmly, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Lots of bumps and cuts," explained the Healer, "but not a lot of major work. I'm keeping those in the beds here more as precaution, but the bones are mended and Bella's just got to sleep off the shock."

"Excellent," Herb nodded happily, giving Abby a weak smile as he patted her shoulder. "You've done good."

Looking about the room, his crystal eyes fell on Simeon. Slowly walking towards the Bulgarian dragon keeper, he tucked his hands behind his back as he approached with a stern look on his face. Bowing his head, Simeon awaited words from his boss, not sure on what they would be, but hoping it wouldn't be about leaving the infirmary if he wasn't injured.

"I want to shake the hand of tonight's hero," said Herb, holding out his hand for his employee to take. "Simeon, you were incredible tonight. In the face of danger, you risked your own life to save another."

"I did only vhat a friend vould do," responded Simeon, refusing Herb's congratulations and holding Bella's hand tightly. "It is nothing heroic. Only vhat vone should do."

"It was still wonderful of you, Simeon," argued Seth as his wand glazed over Abby's wounded legs, sealing the cuts off with new skin in their place. "I know I wouldn't have thought of that, or been prepared to do something that risky. You really are the star of tonight's events."

Simeon didn't look up. His eyes remained on the closed ones of Bella as his thumb grazed her hand.

"Anyway, the lot of you should go have a good long sleep," suggested Herb, clapping his hands together as he headed out of the room. "All is well. Valerie and some of the other keepers managed to get the dragons into their caves safe and sound. No one died. Everyone is getting tomorrow off work. I'll have to do a lot of paperwork in the morning, but I'll worry about it then."

"I can help with that tomorrow if you like," Charlie offered with a shrug.

"If you feel up to it," Herb nodded. "Well, to bed with you lot, come on."

"No," Abby resisted, shaking her head. "I need to stay with the patients in case something happens that needs my attention."

Standing on her feet, the Healer nearly fell over, Seth catching her limping body before she could collapse in a pile of flesh and dirty clothing on the floor. Holding her upright and straight from her elbows, Seth prevented her from wobbling about as Charlie rushed forward.

"Go get some rest, Abby," insisted Seth as he let the weight of the tired young woman slip from his arms to Charlie's. "I can stay here with the patients. I'm a trained Healer. You've worked enough tonight."

"I should stay," fought Abby, pushing herself off of Charlie so she could stand up straight on her newly fixed knees. She took a few steps towards a bed holding a sleeping patient. "I'm not tired, just a bit tingly in the legs. Sealing charms can do that."

"No, you go now," Seth grabbed Abby's arm and pulled her back from checking the next person. "I'll stay here for a few hours, and once you get a bit of shut eye and are more refreshed, you can come back and relieve me."

"Seth is right, Abby," Herb agreed with the journalist with a tight-lip grin. "Go and rest. You've done your job tonight."

With a sigh, Abby knew she wasn't going to win the fight against Seth and Herb. Lowering her head, she nodded slightly and added, "I'll be back by seven in the morning, no later than that."

"We'll expect you then," Seth smiled, nudging Abby in the shoulder. "Now take some chocolate and go. You too, Simeon."

"You cannot make me leave," Simeon replied defiantly.

Before Seth could say anything else, Charlie stopped him. Putting his hand on Seth's shoulder, he said, "Believe me, you can't. It's not worth arguing over, so don't exhaust yourself by trying."

A small giggle escaped from Abby's lips as Seth looked at her dumbfounded, seeming to try and confirm Charlie's words with her. As she nodded her head, Seth could only blink rapidly before shaking his own head and making his way to Bella's bed to change the moist cloth before Simeon did it himself.

- - -

The night air was refreshingly cold as Abby and Charlie stepped into it. The hour had changed from late night to early morning in the span of their eventful time in the dragon's area, and once again the sky was filled with stars rather than smoke. Without words they had walked into the courtyard between the dormitories, their eyes looking into the midnight blue sky and tiny dots that seemed almost to have been painted onto the canvas that was the universe.

"You were great tonight," Charlie broke the silence of the night as he turned to face Abby's bright green eyes, slightly more alert with the small burst of chocolate running in her blood. "I mean, you're just...everything you did..."

"Thanks," smiled Abby, letting Charlie's unfinished sentence drift away into oblivion. "And you were really very brave out there. Godric Gryffindor himself would have been proud."

Charlie nodded, expressing his gratitude silently as the two turned towards the girls' dormitory. The outside light at the door had already been turned off so the only light was that of the celestial beings glowing over them and the dew of the grass reflecting it upwards.

"Well, goodnight, and sleep well," Abby said, brushing her loose hair over shoulder as her eyes glowed, mirroring the shiny dew and stars.

She turned towards the door, her hand reaching towards the knob to enter her dormitory and relax for the remainder of the night. Charlie didn't know what it was that caused his action, but before he could stop himself, it had already happened.

"Abby, wait," he called gently, his hand reaching out and grabbing hers.

A jolt of electric shock coursed through his blood as his bare skin touched hers, and she halted in her place. Spinning back around to face him, he could only freeze as her eyes met with his. The world had stopped for them in that single second.

Charlie leaned forward slowly, his other hand taking her free one and allowing their palms to meet. His mind raced against his heart. Logic told him to just say goodnight and leave it, but the strength of his heart overpowered the thought, making him lean in closer to Abby's face. Slowly inching nearer, he could feel her warm chocolaty breath on his face and finally laid his lips against Abby's.

It took him a moment to realise she wasn't pulling back. She remained still for only a second before she began lean inward, taking in the feel of lips as much as he was hers. Their entangled hands didn't move, neither of them allowing them to speak the passion that was being exchanged between closed mouths.

They hadn't timed the kiss, and there was no way to tell if they had been kissing for a moment, an hour or mere seconds, but when they broke apart it had felt too short a time regardless. Letting their mouths drift in opposite directions, the only thing that they could produce was a small smile. One hand of Charlie's released Abby's left, allowing her to bashfully hide the growing grin as her eyes darted away.

"Goodnight," she whispered, bringing her free hand away from her lips as it searched for the doorknob.

Finally finding the knob, she twisted the door open, stretching the remaining arm that still held Charlie's hand. Holding onto her hand for as long as possible, Charlie walked the few steps towards the door, his fingers trying to memorise her gentle touch before letting it escape him. As she retracted her hand, the smile didn't fade, her white teeth showing until the door closed with a click and the sound of her footsteps going up the metal staircase faded into the night.

Charlie turned and walked back towards his own dormitory, his thoughts upon the most exciting moment of the evening, which was far from the memory of fighting dragons.

**A/N:** Exciting enough? I hope it was. I think that's about exciting as it gets.

Enjoy.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three: Morning After

**teacher123:** Thank you. I'm glad you're still enjoying it. Always a pleasure to hear from you and know what you think.

**johnsocz:** Long time no see, but thank you! And your welcome too, I guess. Your compliment is very nice and I'm glad you like. Thank you.

**RubeusHagrid34:** Haha! I don't mind the girly moment, but that comment cracked me up. It's a worthwhile moment. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and you make me smile with your compliments.

- - -

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Morning After**

The alarm clock in Room 205 had gone off at precisely six thirty in the morning, though there was no one in the room to shut it off. One occupant had spent the night in the infirmary, while the other was already wide awake, having never actually slept, and making his way across the courtyard to the building across from his own, a song running through his head as the sunrise poked first light over the dormitories. Walking over the gravel path and opening the door to the girls' dormitory building, there was little to frown about in the world of Charlie Weasley.

Bounding up the steps to the third floor, he couldn't seem to get there fast enough, only slowing his walk once he had reached the landing he wanted to be on. Creeping through the hallway, he assumed there would probably be other ladies still enjoying beauty rest after an eventful night, and there was only one woman he wanted to see that morning anyway.

Reaching Room 317, he prepared to knock, finding himself frozen before his knuckles could rap on the wood. Stopping himself, he took a step back from the door, running his hand through his hair. He'd mulled and thought about what to say all night, lying in bed contemplating for hours followed by stopping and starting a long speech in front of a mirror, and come all the way from the safety of his room to discover he had nothing in his mind to say. His heart could have spoken volumes, but it was cursed in not having its own mouth. Unfortunately, the only voice he possessed was attached to his brain, which filtered his speech beforehand.

"Maybe Seth has it right," Charlie thought aloud, withdrawing his wand from his pocket. "Orchideous."

A fresh bloom of young budding red roses sprung from the tip of Charlie's wand, his hand snatching the stems out of it while putting the wooden stick back where it belonged. Looking at the flowers, it was as though they could say everything that couldn't be put into words by man, Muggle or wizard. With a deep breath, Charlie took a step forward again, letting his balled fist gently rap against the door.

No answer.

He knocked again, a little louder though hoping that she wasn't still asleep and that he'd be waking her up. For a moment, he thought about turning back and waiting for a more appropriate hour to speak to the friend he had crossed boundaries with the night before, but at the same time, she had mentioned wanting to awaken early.

"Abby?" Gently pressing his ear to the door, he listened closely for a sound, any sound at all. "Abby, are you there?"

"Morning, Mr Weasley."

Spinning on the balls of his feet, there was an occupant of the floor staring at him, her brown glare seeming to peck at him like an Augurey hunting down a fairy prey from behind a pair of thick glasses. With a shoulder leaned against the white wall, she awaited a greeting, crossing her arms over her loose blue pyjama shirt.

"Oh, hi Tamara," Charlie shot out immediately at seeing the prudent young co-worker. "I hope I didn't wake..."

"No," interrupted the Head of the Researching Department, uncrossing her arms and taking a few steps forward across the carpeted hallway, "but for your information, I believe Miss Ridges left earlier this morning to get to the infirmary. I heard her getting up about a half hour ago, I can only assume that was where she was headed."

"Oh," nodded Charlie, dropping the bright scarlet flowers to his side as his chin hid his neck from Tamara's view. "Thank you."

Taking a few steps past Tamara, he began to make his way down the hall, wondering if it was appropriate to burst into the infirmary with roses when Simeon, Seth, and potentially Bella would be watching on awkwardly. He had known that the talk may be embarrassing to dive into, but it was hopefully only going to be observed by one other person other than himself.

"If you want to leave those here for her, I can let you into the room," Tamara offered before Charlie fell out of earshot. Her head spun around, her dirty blonde locks swishing around her head as it moved. "Roses like those should probably be put in water right away. They'll wilt if you wait to give them to her."

Tamara did have a point. He didn't want to give Abby old wilting flowers in the middle of the day; they would need to be placed in water. Not only that, but he could conjure more for their face-to-face encounter later. By leaving them in her room, it would be a nice surprise to come home to at the end of the day. Charlie could already imagine the smile on her face, seeing the roses sitting on her desk waiting for her grin to grace their petals. In his mind, she looked so happy.

"That would be great," he finally responded, turning back towards Room 317.

Reaching into the deep pockets of her black shorts, Tamara produced a ring of at least thirty keys. Delicately pushing a handful of them away, she would look at one, and discard it on the ring, flipping through them quickly as she sought the one to open Abby and Bella's room before finally settling on the correct one. Thrusting it into the lock, one flip of her wrist made the door click, the wood swinging on brass hinges.

"Just lock it before you leave," she instructed carefully, putting the key ring back into her pocket. "And do try not to disturb the late sleepers. It is rather early."

Before he could respond with a simple nod, Tamara had already turned on the balls of her feet and walked down the hallway towards her own private room, shutting the door behind her. Focusing his attention away from the rigidly stern researcher, Charlie walked into Room 317, his heart pounding despite the fact he knew Abby wouldn't be there, leaving the door only slightly ajar.

Approaching Abby's side of the room with a slow creep across the carpeted floor, he took a hold of his wand once again. A swirl of the magical stick over the desk's surface spun a crystal-like vase, looking as though it had been modelled after a blooming flower at the hands of an old Venetian artisan. The new vase wobbled slightly, Charlie holding it still from the rim as his wand filled it partway with fresh warm water. Gently placing the final touch to the piece of art, the stems of the roses sunk into the water and leaned against the sides of the vase, protruding at the top in a beautiful arrangement.

With hands on his hips, Charlie took a few steps back, admiring the work he'd done and the placement of the roses on her desk. Sitting precisely at the centre of the desk, it was perfect down to the last petal on the smallest rose hidden in the back. Against the backdrop of a small wall of pictures, it seemed that it couldn't be topped.

Just as he turned to leave, the corner of his brown eye caught a photograph mounted on the wall above his gift of flowers. Walking ahead so his upper thigh leaned against the ledge of the table, he took a close look at the picture: Abby and himself just outside of Hogwarts Castle, sitting on the steps that led up to the Entrance Hall. The both of them were only seventeen, wearing their finest robes and wizard caps in honour for their completion of school. Moving about within the frame, the two figures laughed heartily, frequently waving from their place, before Charlie would start to tickle the lady he would be kissing five years later.

Charlie's hand grazed the edge of the old photograph, his mind going into his thoughts from that day. Five years ago, he had a great friend in Abby Ridges, someone who would practice Quidditch with him, share in his laughter and generally put up with a boy who chased dragons in dreams. She was a dear friend, and in one kiss, she had become so much more. Charlie could only smile at the thought; it had been one amazing kiss from a spectacular woman. His eyes darted back to the photo, giving it one last glance before he began to turn away, and his thoughts lingering to the two unsuspecting friends in the picture.

His left foot hit the desk with a loud thud, causing Charlie to stumble and grab the chair for support as he regained his balance. Once he stabilised on one foot, he looked down to what his ankle had tripped on, seeing that the bottom drawer had been left open, though not by any accident, but because it was too full to be shut properly. With envelopes and rolled parchment paper spilling outward, it seemed to be a nasty fall and broken bone waiting to happen.

Releasing his hold on the chair, Charlie leant over, grabbing all the papers that crowded the drawer and pulling them out, sliding the drawer into the desk with ease as his foot pushed it. Sitting down at the desk, next to the vase of flowers, he set all the papers down, attempting to put them into neat stacks before shoving them back into their spot.

As he sorted the envelopes away from the rolls of parchment, Charlie noted that every envelope had not had their seals broken, the correspondence going unread by whom they were addressed to. Looking at the face of each envelope, they were all written in the same blue ink and slanted cursive hand, to Abigail Ridges. With a raised eyebrow, Charlie couldn't imagine who would address Abby so formally by her full first name.

Curiosity had taken a hold on him quickly. He set aside the unopened envelopes and turned his attention to the rolls of parchment. Leaning back in the chair and glancing towards the door, he assured no one was about to disturb him before he unrolled the nearest scroll of yellow paper and let his eyes begin to read and satisfy his inquisitive nature:

_Dearest Abigail,  
I know you've been ignoring my letters, but it is of the greatest importance that you hear me out. At least write back to me, and let me know what is running through your mind. We should talk regardless.  
Nothing in the world could make me change my mind about you. I'm still madly in love, and I wish that you would at least consider the facts. I love you. I proposed. I wanted you to be my wife, from the moment we were to wed until the end of life itself. I wanted to provide a home. You know I could provide well for the both of us. It broke my heart, the day you left me. Come back and talk to me about why you left to begin with. We can work it out, whatever it may be._

While his eyes had continued to move down the letter, Charlie's mind had stopped comprehending everything that was written before him. There was little question as to who had written the words, but he still leapt to the bottom and read the name signed with love, Darren Burdock Barton.

The scroll snapped back into the rolled position as Charlie's hands released their hold on it. There were dozens on dozens of the letters from the ex-fiancé, enough for every day since the beginning of the year, the majority of which seemed to go unread. Other than bite on his tongue to prevent from swallowing it, Charlie found himself frozen at Abby's desk, unable to move.

"_It broke my heart, the day you left me_," he repeated the words from letter inside of his head. "_Come back and talk to me about why you left to begin with_."

She'd left him. After thinking for so long that Abby had been victim to some kind of control freak of a wizard who abused the privilege of her love, she'd been the one to end it all as he pined for her to return and work things through. It was clear by the amount of letters that he was only an inch away from desperate; he'd be showing up at the reserve to plea in person next, but one thing stuck out in Charlie's mind.

What would prevent Abby from leaving him if she had abandoned someone who clearly was crazy about her and could offer her more than he could? What could make her stay with a poor dragon keeper when she'd left a rising Ministry worker?

Darren Barton had mentioned he was a provider, and could sustain himself and Abby perfectly. Meanwhile, chasing dragons didn't bring in the best of incomes. Of course, it had an okay one, but in comparison to how much a Ministry worker could potentially make in the right department, there was really no comparison. Darren Barton could give Abby everything she could ever want and Charlie Weasley couldn't. There was nothing to make him any more desirable.

How long would it be before Abby would see that?

Picking up the neatly stack envelopes, Charlie placed them back in the drawer where he had found them, putting the scrolls of parchment next to them so they all fit nicely and shared the space. Looking back to the desk, only one item remained unsorted in his cleaning, a photograph turned so it faced the desk rather than him. With a flick of his wrist, he turned it up, gazing upon a regular Muggle picture of a blonde man with crystal clear blue eyes and a dazzling smile, sitting next to Abby in Healer scrubs of lime green.

As much as Charlie wanted to rip the photograph into two, separating Darren from Abby, he tossed it into the drawer, not bothering to see it land before he slammed the desk shut. Rising from the seat, he quickly walked out of the room, locking the door on the way out and jogged through the hall, down the stairs and into the early morning air, not caring whom awoke on his way out.

A heavy sigh left Charlie's mouth as he stopped in front of the girls' dormitory, the place where the magical kiss had happened only hours ago. In that moment, everything had been perfect, and now they seemed as though they were slipping like sand through his fingers. It had meant everything, and suddenly nothing. If she'd left Darren, who claimed true love to her, she could leave him too.

In a fast paced walk, he began to make his way towards the main building. There was only one place where Abby could be by Tamara's suggestion. He needed to know, and he needed to confront her on the matter while it was still fresh in his mind. Bursting through the entrance of the building, the door slammed into someone's face, snapping Charlie out of his angered trance.

"Watch where you aim that door, Charlie," the victim of the door said, stumbling against the wall and holding his nose. "It's a dangerous weapon."

"I'm sorry, Seth," apologized the dragon keeper quickly as Seth removed his hands from his face.

"No harm done," replied Seth casually, wiggling his nose about to assure his statement was true. "Be a bit more careful, though."

"Have you seen...?" Charlie started.

"Simeon and Abby are in the infirmary," answered Seth, already knowing the rest of the question without letting Charlie finish. "Bella started stirring about an hour ago, so they're probably both hovering over her right now."

"Thanks," muttered Charlie, beginning to stalk down the hallway again.

"Are you heading for Herb's office?" Seth called out after his co-worker. "I think he was looking for you, since you said you'd help him today."

Charlie halted with a groan. He'd forgotten his offer to help with the masses of paperwork that morning, and was wishing he hadn't offered his hand. Mind he hadn't suspected that he'd be keen to confront Abby so much when he'd made the promise to help out.

"Do you need me to pass on a message?" asked Seth, inching closer and putting his hand on Charlie's shoulder. "I can go right back to the infirmary if you want. Not like I'll sleep anyway, too much coffee."

"Um...yeah..." nodded Charlie, taking Seth's kind offer as messenger. "Could you just tell Abby that I need to talk to her? It's important."

"Sure thing," Seth smiled, patting Charlie on the back firmly as they walked down the corridor together. "I'll send her your way if she has a spare moment. I can always keep an eye on the patients for a few minutes if needed. Actually, I think Abby released most of them this morning on arrival."

"Thanks," Charlie sighed, turning down another hallway towards Herb's office, leaving Seth to find his way back to the hospital wing he knew well on his own.

With his hands buried in his pockets, Charlie gloomily walked towards the office of his boss. Dragging his feet across the carpet and hanging his head low, he knew there would be mountains of work to do, little time to do it all in, and to top it all off, it would be as dull as Potions class. The only plus seemed to be it could potentially take his mind off of Abby and Darren Barton.

"Why, hello Charlie," a voice greeted him happily as he opened the door to Herb's office and took a step in. "How delightful to see you."

"Morning Giselle."

- - -

"It was sweet of you to stay with me all night, Simeon," cooed Bella softly as she lay in the hospital bed, beaming up at her friend as he helped her sit up against a pile of pillows. "You really shouldn't have."

"It vas nothing," Simeon shrugged, fluffing up the cotton cushions that supported her head before sitting back down in his chair beside her bed. "Comfortable?"

"Yes," Bella nodded, her face lighting up like a lantern as she smiled wide, her hand coming down to rest on top of Simeon's.

"You seem to be doing really well for someone who had quite the fall," commented Abby as she carried a tray with two cups, a steaming pot of tea, and a plate of chocolate, setting it down at the table next to Bella's bed before she poured the green tea. "Just relax for the rest of the morning and you can sleep in your own bed tonight."

"Thank you so much," Bella sighed happily, leaning her head back down on the pillows with a large grin plastered on her face as Abby handed her and Simeon a cup of the fresh green tea. "You seem so cheerful today, Abby."

"Everyone is alive and well," said Abby as she pranced away from the bed with the empty tray in her hands. "Why shouldn't I be happy?"

"True," toasted Bella, taking a long swig of her tea as Abby disappeared dancing into a backroom to dispose of the tray.

Sipping the bit of tea slowly, Simeon looked around the room. The rest of the patients resulting from the events of the previous night had already left on the Healer's orders, their bones mended and headaches gone, Bella being the last remaining victim. As the day's new sunlight poured in through the large windows, it was only the two in the room, having their tea together.

"Simeon, could you please pass me a piece of chocolate?" asked Bella, bringing down her cup to reveal a small smile.

Her bedside companion nodded, reaching for the plate laden with the sweet treats that Abby left for them. Before his hand could grab the rim of the glass dish, he retracted, looking with a smirk at a confused Bella. With the same hand, he reached into his pocket, grasping his wand and withdrawing it. Pointing towards the chocolate on the plate, a few lilac sparks spurted out, landing on the chocolate like sugar icing.

Within seconds, the chocolate pieces began to shift, wiggling on the plate until they sprouted wings and were able to lift off on their own power. Fluttering about over the dish, they continued to change shape before Bella's eyes until they had completely transformed into what Simeon had intended for them, chocolate butterflies.

"Simeon," Bella laughed as she watched the sweets swoop over her bed and dance around for her amusement, "how cute. They're almost too adorable to eat."

One of the butterflies took the cue, flying closer to Bella's face, hovering at her nose and letting its scent tempt her taste buds. Not resisting the delicious smell for long, Bella's lips parted, allowing the butterfly to rest on her tongue and melt slowly as she closed her mouth.

"Where did you learn to do that, Simeon?" asked Bella curiously as she swallowed the warm chocolate, letting it float all the way into her stomach. "It's very clever."

Simeon shrugged, reaching into the air and taking hold of one of his creations, delicately caging it between his fingers. "Simple transfiguration."

"Morning all," interrupted a greeting voice as the door to the infirmary opened, the face looking around at the empty beds before resting on the one at the far end. The grey eyes widened in surprise, causing the figure to spring forward across the room and to the bedside. "Bella!"

"Good morning, Seth," Bella smiled, sitting up a little straighter in bed as the journalist hovered over her.

"How are you? Are you all right?" asked Seth, not taking a pause for answers between his questions. "Have you had some chocolate today? How long have you been awake? Has Abby had the time to examine you in full?"

"I'm fine, Seth," assured Bella, giving Seth a bright smile. "I'll be out of here by this afternoon."

"Oh, good," nodded Seth, returning the smile as he looked around the room. "You know, I think we need to brighten things up around here."

Putting his right hand behind his back for only a moment, a pop noise resounded through the infirmary before it reappeared in front of Bella's wide eyes with a large bouquet of ruby red tulips and bright royal purple irises. The flowers fell into Bella's arms, her mouth hanging open as her tongue searched for the corrects words to use, though the smile her lips formed said enough.

"Oh, they're beautiful," she finally mustered up, her fingers brushing against soft petals, as if they were strings of a lyre that sweet music would emit from. "Thank you so much, Seth."

"No problem," replied Seth with a smile, before turning to Simeon across the bed. "How are you holding up here, Simeon?"

"Fine," he answered curtly, releasing the delicate chocolate butterfly from his grasp, the others fluttering over the bed falling from where they hovered.

Melodious humming entered the three sets of ears, the door to the backroom opening to let in the smiling Healer as she carried in a pile of clean white sheets. With a mist in her eyes and light step in her feet, she looked as though she had just come out of a wonderful dream, or taken on Bella's normal aura.

"Abby," Seth called out, causing the Healer to stop singing in her head and look up towards her confused audience.

"Oh, hi," Abby stumbled a bit, her cheeks flushing a warm shade of pink as her eyes fell on the three spectators. "I didn't know you were coming back, Seth. I can handle things here."

"I know, but Charlie was looking for you," explained Seth with a shrug. "He said it was important."

"Oh." Abby pursed her lips together, trying hard to not laugh out loud as she folded her arms across her chest and shrugged her shoulders casually. "Do you know exactly what he thought was so important?"

"No, he just wanted to talk to you," relayed Seth, taking a few steps towards the Healer in front of him. "He's probably in Herb's office right now. I can stay up here for a while longer and you can go see what needs your attention."

"Thank you," she nodded with a small tight smile, "I believe I will do that."

Without further prodding out the door, Abby calmly made her way to the exit, vanishing within seconds in a speed walk out of the hospital wing. Bella smirked happily to herself, giggling quietly behind her bouquet of flowers as Seth and Simeon stared at the door curiously.

"Well, that was slightly weird," pointed out Seth, turning back to the two other people in the room. "But anyway, it's so good to see you are well again, Bella. It was scary last night, it was."

Seth's hand met with Bella's shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he looked down at her hazel eyes, as if trying to memorise every detail of her face. Carefully, Bella put her hand on his, giving him a reassuring grin in return, her fingers stroking him gently. Watching the intimate moment closely, Simeon stood from his chair, kicking it away from the bed so it made a loud skidding noise against the floor.

"Seth," he interrupted the two, making them look up at him, "may I have a vord?"

The journalist nodded, taking his hand off of Bella's shoulder. "Of course."

Gesturing towards the corridor, Seth led the way out of the infirmary, Simeon only a stride away from stepping on the back of his shoes. Once they had stepped out of the room, Simeon closed the door behind him, looking about to make sure they were alone in the hallway.

"So, what's the word, Simeon?" asked Seth casually, patiently waiting as the other man leaned on his hand against the wall.

Simeon's fist clenched tightly, his fingernails digging into his palm. He took a long deep breath, dreading what he would have to say, as he took his hair sheltered glance away from Seth and concentrated on his balled hand.

"It is about Miss Bella," began Simeon, unable to meet his rival eye to eye. "You care for her, deeply."

"It's not difficult," confessed Seth with a shrug, shaking his head at the thought, "I mean, she's a wonderful person and a great friend to have around. How can someone not care about her?"

"This is no joke," snapped Simeon, his fist becoming a bit tighter, poising like a snake ready to strike a piece of prey. "You do care for her. I must varn you now. If you hurt her, I vill hurt you."

A puzzled look crossed the researching journalist's face, his head darting to his sides as if expecting to see someone else that Simeon was addressing. Looking back to the lecturing keeper, he waited for further explanations.

"She is happy vith you," detailed Simeon, holding his forehead in his hand. "I can see it in her eyes. You must promise you vill give her everything. She deserves no less."

"Simeon," Seth tried to interrupt, making a motion for the keeper to stop talking.

"You have to be good to her..."

"Simeon."

"And appreciate her..."

"Simeon."

"And love her as if she is the entire vorld to you."

"Simeon!" Seth finally raised his voice, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a flat black dragon hide wallet. "I want you to see something."

Reluctantly, Simeon shoved his hands into his pockets as Seth rummaged through pieces of identifications and little pictures in his wallet. Flipping through a small stack composed mainly of pictures of his family or his pet Crup, he finally withdrew one, holding it up for Simeon to see.

The photo was of a young woman, with windswept blonde hair and clear blue eyes, wearing a bright blue swimsuit against the backdrop of an Australian beach. She posed confidently next to a matching surfboard, holding it as if it were attached to her hip sporting a large beam of a smile plastered permanently to her face. Watching it closely, Simeon noted it didn't move at all, clearly having been developed in the Muggle fashion.

"This is Liza Summers," Seth explained with a sigh. "She was my girlfriend when I was working in Australia. We were together for a very lovely few months during my stay there, but my occupation forced a break-up on us. Neither of us was keen on a long distance relationship. I asked her to come to Romania with me, but she stayed where she was. She's a champion surfer and lets face it, the waves in Romania just aren't as good. All that, and she's a Muggle."

Simeon nodded along, unsure as to where the story was headed.

"I may have been away from her for some time," Seth pressed on, trying to reach the point of his story, "but I assure you I haven't stopped thinking about her since the day I waved goodbye from the airport terminal. Bella knew about it all, and she's been a great friend to me in all of this, hearing me out and giving me advice, encouraging me to write to her. I don't know what it would have been like, going through all of that without a good friend at my side. Travelling so much with my job, there's not a lot of time to find good friends like Bella."

Nodding again, Simeon waited as Seth paused, catching up with himself before going onward in his story.

"Simeon, Bella and I aren't...involved," the word finally came out of his mouth, making Simeon's fist fall flat in his pocket. "We're very good friends, but I don't think about her in that way, not like you."

A silence fell between the two men, neither of them knowing what to say next. Swallowing back saliva, Simeon crossed his arms, struggling for the next words he suspected he would have to say.

"I'm meant for someone else," Seth said, putting the photograph back into his wallet with care. "Bella knows that. And besides, she has a bit of a thing for someone else, but she didn't want to pursue anything yet. He's sort of a quiet fellow, keeps to himself a lot, and doesn't talk too much. I think she wasn't too sure if he liked her back. She's waiting for a cue from him."

Shooting his eyebrows up on his forehead, Simeon took the clue from his so-called opponent, the realisation finally dawning on him like a red sun shooting up into the middle of a black night sky. He nodded his head towards Seth as his once balled fist reached for the door to the infirmary.

"You know, I think I'll just wait outside until Abby comes back," sighed Seth, learning his back against the wall, relaxing there as he shot a smart grin towards the Bulgarian keeper. "You don't really need a Healer in there anyway."

"Thank you," Simeon muttered quietly under his breath, giving Seth a nod before pushing his shaggy dark bangs back and entering the infirmary.

The door closed with a click behind him, causing Bella to turn as her head rested against the pillow. Her eyes met with Simeon's now visible ones as she propped herself up a little straighter.

"What was all that about?" she asked curiously as Simeon approached her rapidly.

Simeon took a seat on the bed, looking towards the questioning lady in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he made sure his bangs were brushed aside and moved in, almost leaping for Bella's lips as if she had been away at war for ages.

It was only a second before Bella's arms instinctively wrapped themselves around Simeon's neck, holding him in place as he kissed her. Taking it as a cue, Simeon's hands held Bella's cheeks gently, his lips going in for more before they broke apart. Both of their eyes widened as they looked into each other's, too shocked to speak for a moment.

"Wow," Bella finally gasped, leaning back a little into the pillow, her hands moving upwards to play in Simeon's shaggy hair.

"I have vanted to do that a long time, Miss Bella," explained Simeon with a small nod, taking one arm down so his hand rested on her shoulder while his other fingers graced her cheek and brushed away loose strands of her wavy locks.

"Simeon," interrupted Bella, a serious expression entering her eyes.

"Yes," he replied, swallowing back the nerves that began to well in his throat.

"I think you can call me Bella now," she whispered with a devious grin.

"Bella," he repeated, relishing the sound of her name on his tongue.

She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer to her. "Now, shut up and kiss me again."

- - -

"It's so nice to have some company in the office," Giselle remarked happily, handing a stack of papers to Charlie as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "It does get quite boring around here, and it's nice to see you offering to help dear old Uncle Herb."

Charlie didn't bother to respond to Giselle's words, his eyes fixed on the accident claim forms in front of his brown eyes. The inkless quill in his hand tapped the paper in an absentminded fashion, his head elsewhere in the universe as his office co-worker watched him curiously through her light blue eyes.

"My, my," she muttered, hopping onto the desk and taking a seat next to Charlie's hand. Positioning carefully, she crossed her legs so that one barefoot could brush against Charlie's upper arm while she leaned back on her hands. "Someone seems very distracted today. Why so miserable, Charlie?"

"It's nothing," he replied without thinking, continuing to tap the point of the quill on the rough parchment.

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Giselle rebuked softly. "Tell Giselle what's bothering you so much."

"I'm just tired is all," Charlie responded, only telling part of the truth, as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "We all had a bit of a rough night what with the dragons."

"I can only imagine how stressful that was," chimed Giselle, using one hand to brush her kneecap and run partway up her thigh to the hem of her short denim skirt. "I would have been there, if I didn't sleep with earplugs."

"Be grateful you did," muttered Charlie quietly under his breath, putting the quill down and burying his head in his hands.

"Oh poor Charlie," sighed Giselle, jumping down from the desk and coming along behind Charlie, beginning to kneed his neck and shoulder region. "You need to relax. Just let all your muscles go and let the tension flow out."

Moving down his shoulders, her arms slowly wrapped around his neck, clasping into each other like a lock on his chest. With little pressure, she pushed Charlie so he leaned into the back of his chair, nestled between her arms and body unknowingly. Her button nose brushed against his ear, taking in the scent of his hair as she leaned into him.

"You do not deserve such worry, Charlie," cooed Giselle softly into his ear, her breath tickling the lobe. "Worry isn't for you. You need to get away and just relax and have fun."

Charlie didn't hear what was being said to him, his racing mind not in the room or aware of the woman who had his body in a cage made of her arms.

"You should come to Paris with me this summer," Giselle suggested, still speaking in a hushed tone. "It is a beautiful city by the night, in the glow of the many lights. There is so much to do: walk down the street, eat in cafes, the ballet, the museums, perhaps even Versailles by sunset. It is enchanting."

With their attentions distracted from anything going on in the room, neither Giselle nor Charlie saw the single green eye peer in from the slightly ajar door, not wanting to enter as it watched the scene intently.

"You need some fun in your life, Charlie," Giselle continued, inching her head in closer to Charlie's face, sneaking around him while the guard was down. "I can give you that, if you let me."

Using one hand to tip Charlie's chin back, Giselle laid her mouth against her conquest's lips, planting her lipstick's mark on him. It took two seconds for Charlie's brain to rush back to its normal place in his head, causing his eyes to bug open and squirm uneasily.

"Giselle!" he bellowed out, releasing her hold on him and standing up straight from the chair. "What was that about?"

The woman in front of him only stood in her place, slightly shocked at being declined in the middle of a kiss. Her eyes alit with flames, her expression making up for the lack of words, as Charlie wiped his mouth with his arm and removed the mark of red she had planted on him. His eyes narrowed on her accusingly, but she maintained her silent state with tight lips.

"I should go," he said calmly, moving towards the door. "Tell Herb I'm sorry I can't help him today."

Pulling on the doorknob, he expected the door to swing open and let him out quickly, getting away from Giselle being his only goal in mind. Yanking the knob, the door remained in its place, shut completely off from the corridor. With a final glance at the silent Giselle, he turned the knob and walked out of the room, his mind wondering who he was more upset with, Giselle or Abby.

- - -

Seth patiently waited in front of the infirmary doors, flipping through the photographs he had in his wallet. With a small grin on his face, he looked over all the ones he had of the beautiful beach blonde, Liza. In every picture, she smiled with the magnificence of the sun, something he'd missed in the months away from her presence. Pressing two fingers to his lips, he moved them towards the picture, planting the remnants of a kiss onto her cheek, wondering if she could feel that so many miles away.

Footsteps coming down the corridor made Seth shove the pictures away into his wallet, and the wallet back into his pocket. Leaning casually against the doorframe, he waited as the sound drew closer, shoes tapping against the staircase until the face of the regular Healer appeared from around the corner. 

"Abby," he exclaimed at seeing the person appear. "Did you find Charlie?"

The young woman looked up at Seth and nodded quietly. "Yes, I did."

"Oh, good," smiled Seth. "He mentioned it was important."

"It was," Abby replied with a momentary weak smile, her hand resting against the infirmary door. "If you'll excuse me, I have to change the sheets in there."

Without another word, she disappeared into the infirmary, leaving Seth in the corridor to ponder over why she had suddenly gotten so quiet.

**A/N:** If you're a Charlie/Abby fan, you probably hate me now. If you're a Simeon/Bella fan, you must love this. If you like both...well I don't know how you should feel.

Mysteries are beginning to unravel. Look for more of that soon.

And plot thickens, naturally. Maybe I was wrong to say it couldn't be more exciting.

Raquel, the co-conspirator of this fic also imagines Seth's girl Liza to be in the appearance of Alison Lohman.

Enjoy!


	25. Chapter Twenty Four: The Truth About Him

**teacher123: **Thanks. I figured the plotline at this point for Charlie and Abby would not be as well received as Simeon and Bella's. Just hope for them. And I hope this chapter answers your question.

**RubeusHagrid34:** Always encouraging and fun to hear your response. It's fun to hear your…enthusiasm for the ships. I'm glad you're enjoying this.

- - -

**Chapter Twenty-Four: The Truth About Him**

The night was already beginning to fall over the reserve as Charlie looked out into the courtyard, watching as some of his newly mended companions enjoyed the last few hours of their day off by playing a rousing game of English football. It was tempting to go down to the grass and join them in their enjoyment of sport, but not only was his body physically exhausted from the long day, Charlie's mind was elsewhere. From the window of his room, his eyes kept the door that went into the main building in view, waiting for a particular someone to emerge.

He had waited there for the better part of his day, though he was also partially hiding from Giselle at the same time, leaving his window only once for a shower. His stomach growled for a form of nourishment, but against his mind, the powerful hunger didn't win out and had fallen silent. With his forehead against the cold glass, his brain feeling slightly numb, he could only wait for the person he sought and nothing else.

It was tempting to fall asleep there against the window, his body not having any source of energy to feed upon or any rest since two days before. While the temptation was there, the desperate need for answers was stronger and kept his eyes open, though they drooped low. He knew he wouldn't sleep until he had spoken to someone and resolved all curiosity anyway, and there was no hope in putting his head to a pillow until his concerns were addressed.

A few researchers and keepers wandered out of the building, having finished another delicious dinner by Nisha. The pack of them took seats in the lush green grass, sitting down to watch the Muggle sport be played out by wizards as Fritz Zellweger scored a point for his team. Chattering and cheering away happily under the approaching sky of dusk, it seemed that everyone outside was content with their day off.

As the noises filling the field distracted his attention, Charlie nearly missed Abby as she exited the main building and headed straight towards her dormitory, the hood of her jacket shielding her weary face from the crowd.

Catching the glimpse of her from the corner of his eye just as she walked down the path towards the girls' building, he immediately felt what little energy he had spring out of the reserves, allowing him to sprint from his room, out the door and jump down the flights of stairs. Bursting through the door he ran across the courtyard and through the football game, much to the displeasure of everyone around him. Pushing his way through the angry players, excusing himself past shocked spectators, and dodging the curses being thrown at him in all directions, he made it across and ran into the building he intended, Abby having already disappeared inside and the sound of her footsteps leading up the metal staircase.

"Abby," he called out, running up the steps, skipping many at a time in the attempt to catch up to her. "Abby!"

Making it to the third landing, the backside of her was visible, walking towards her room down the corridor with her hood lowered and her hands in her pockets. In a fast jog, Charlie went after her, getting closer with every stride.

"Abby," he called again, grabbing her shoulder as he finally caught up to her.

The woman whipped around, releasing herself from Charlie's grip and smacking his hand away as she did so. Looking at him head on, her green eyes burrowed into him accusingly as she crossed her arms.

"What do you want?" she asked, near spitting her words towards him.

"Why did you leave him?" Charlie jumped into his agenda instantly, not pausing to wonder why Abby was so bitter without reason.

"What?" she replied, shaking her head.

"Darren," he explained in one word, causing the young woman before him to take a step back in surprise. "Why did you leave Darren?"

"I didn't leave Darren," Abby fought back with gritted teeth.

"I found the letters," confessed Charlie, preventing Abby from denying it any further. "The ones from him in the bottom drawer of your desk, letters that pine for you and claim love for you and ask why you left to begin with, but ones you don't respond to regardless."

Abby paused, her mouth hanging open slightly while her eyes couldn't bear to blink. It was as though someone had stupefied her on the spot before she finally took a deep breath and blinked.

"You read my mail?" she asked, though the answer was already evident by Charlie's last sentences. Nervously, she ran her fingers through her loose hair, pulling on strands as if it would help relieve the thoughts running in her head. "You read my mail?"

"How else would I know about the letters?" Charlie mockingly shrugged.

"Asked me?" she suggested, raising her voice as her arms fell to her side.

"Well, I haven't exactly gotten the whole story from you yet," snapped Charlie maliciously. "And you didn't really mention the fact you were the one who ended everything between the two of you and he still loves you."

"I haven't lied to you and I didn't leave him," repeated Abby, getting louder with every syllable she spoke, her fists becoming tight.

"What happened then?" he shouted, not caring who heard them arguing in the middle of the corridor anymore.

"He left me first," she yelled back at him.

The conversation in the corridor ceased, both of the contributors too shocked over what had just been said to say another word. Sounds coming from outside began to enter the corridor, cheers for a brilliant save cutting through the thickness of the silence. Abby turned her green eyes away from Charlie's interrogating look, concentrating on the pattern of the carpet.

"What happened between you two?" Charlie finally managed to say, shaking the shock away from his mind far enough to give him power of speech. "What have you been letting fester inside of you all year long?"

"Aren't you afraid you won't get the whole story?" threw back Abby smartly, facing Charlie, but refusing to meet his eyes.

"Tell me what happened," he said, his anger tone fading a little as he spoke. Daringly he took a step forward, coming close enough to touch Abby's shoulder if he needed to.

Abby kept her quietness for a moment, wringing her hands together at her front. Running all of the fingers on her right hand over her left ring finger, she closed her eyes as if she were about to spring the waterworks, but instead looked up and right into Charlie's brown eyes.

"It started fine," she began, crossing her arms again and holding her upper arms with the opposing hands as if she were trying to keep warm, "but don't all relationships. I was a training Healer and he was a resident Healer in the plant poison ward who had the goal to one day enter the Ministry of Magic. We talked in the tearoom while on breaks, and shared our goals with each other. He thought my own ambitions to heal creatures rather than wizards were admirable, and we started going out once I was out of the training stages.

"Back then, he supported everything I did, and I did the same thing for him. There was mutual respect between us, and maybe that's what I liked so much about what we had together. There wasn't any compromising on any part, we could both have our own lives and live them without having to worry about the other objecting. He was completely on board with my decision to become a Creature Healer, and he stood by me through the entire process, from helping me study through the night to just holding my hand before I walked into my first job out of St. Mungo's."

With a heavy sigh, she stopped, blinking without a tear in her eyes again. As much as Charlie wanted to know about what had occurred those five years while he and Abby had no contact, seeing the look in her eyes made him wish he had not started the conversation with her.

"It all changed when he asked me to marry him," she continued after a short breath. "It seemed like a no-brain decision, but I didn't know what I was getting into. I met his mother, and his grandmother, and his whole family, all purebloods with a long lineage of bringing up successful politicians and brilliant writers and groundbreaking Healers. They all cringed at the knowledge I was a poor illegitimate Muggleborn child of a waitress in Brighton, hardly Barton daughter-in-law material. They did everything in their power to assure I didn't ruin their pure reputation."

A part of Charlie wanted to her stop her storytelling, every word she spoke seeming to drain a little more from her voice. The nagging conscience in his head begged him to make her cease, but he had to know.

"Mrs Barton asked me to live in their estate with them almost at once," explained Abby, a shiver running down her spine as she mentioned the name of her would-be mother-in-law. "She said it was to accustom me to the workings of their household, but it was more like so she could keep an eye on my behaviour and slowly conform me into what a Ministry worker's wife should be. Darren quit being a Healer and entered the Ministry a week after we were engaged.

"I wanted to support Darren in his endeavour, as he had done for me, and I let his mother teach me about being a proper witch of society. I knew it wasn't a life made for me, but I wanted for him to be happy, and part of that was making sure his family was pleased with me. For the best, I just shut my mouth and went along trying to make sure I met the standards they set for me. I didn't know how much it was changing me, or rather hiding me. I stopped being Abby, and I was suddenly Abigail Ridges, fiancé to Darren Barton and nothing else. What was worse was that Darren didn't even really care that I wasn't myself anymore. I'd destroyed everything I was, I let them mould me into their ideals of a real lady, and he didn't care it was being done right under his nose. He was changing before my eyes, and I don't think I'd ever felt so alone."

Charlie's left hand gave a twitch, the muscles urging him to hold Abby; to hold onto her, hug her tightly, and not let go. It was starting to become evident as to why she'd left everything behind her, and he was quietly kicking himself for having his doubts earlier in the day.

"It all snapped after the accident," Abby's voice interrupted Charlie's thoughts.

"You were in an accident?" His eyes widened, moving another step forward instinctively, looking for invisible bumps and bruises as if he would see them through her clothing.

She shook her head. "I wasn't. Anna was."

The image of a short ten-year-old girl dressed in pink with dark brown hair and eyes to match popped into Charlie's head at the very mention of the name. Almost every year, he'd seen Annabelle Ridges-McKinnon at King's Cross in London, waiting outside the barrier of Platform 9¾ to welcome her older witch sister home for the summer with a homemade banner or poster with crude crayon drawings on them. She'd always been a lively little girl in his memory, who Abby always wrote to from the Gryffindor common room and spoke of endearingly while in school. Imagining that the sweet little sister of Abby had been in an accident, he could only hope he would never experience that with any of his brothers or Ginny.

"She'd fallen into a bad crowd while I had been away, and she was pretty good at keeping it a secret from mum and Lyle," detailed Abby, clearing her throat a little as she spoke. "One night, she made a bad choice and got into a car with two boys who shouldn't have gotten behind the wheel. There was a bend in the street they missed. I don't know a lot about what happened then, Anna doesn't like to talk about it that much and mum and I don't try to make her discuss it unless she brings it up, but one passenger didn't make it."

The guilty conscience throbbed again against the back of his head, badgering at him to make her stop the talk and just throw his arms around her to beg forgiveness for his demanding to know. All sensation in his arms had been frozen, his body physically incapable of moving as Abby spoke.

"I rushed for the hospital the second I found out," she pressed onward with her story, though Charlie suspected she wouldn't have done anything other than that. "It broke me to see my baby sister the way I did in that early morning, bandaged beyond all recognition with my mother biting her nails at her side and Lyle demanding answers from every doctor or nurse that passed the room. I took leave of absence from work, and temporarily moved back home to take care of my mum. I was able to use magic and help Anna get better, but with doctors around most of the time, getting even the smallest fractures healed was a task, and they would notice she was getting better too quickly. It was a slow process, and my stay with mum was prolonged every day.

"If anything good ever came of what my family went through in those months, it was that I finally saw Darren for what he was. He never came to see Anna or my family throughout the ordeal. The odd owl came, asking if I had the time to go with him to another benefit gala or charity ball and put on an appearance in front of his co-workers, normally with a little note 'Best to your Family' at the end of the letter. It's not hard to ask how Anna's health was, he knew about it and everything and there was never even a hint that he cared at all about what was important to me."

He didn't know how Abby could keep dry eyes as she spoke. The intonation of her voice was a good indication of her thoughts, but it was as though she lacked the ability to shed tears at the thought. The mere mention of a Quidditch accident that resulted in a broken bone would make his mother burst into tears in an instant. Abby had seemed to have suffered more than anything Charlie could ever remember in his twenty-two years of life, and she didn't cry.

"Anna got released two and a half months after her hospitalisation, but her readjustment into normal life was a difficult thing," Abby went on. "She'd been immobile for ages, and she had to learn to walk again and regain strength in her muscles before she could even think about going back to school or even going out on her own. I continued to stay home with mum and Anna to help, whether it was doing the dishes after meals or holding my sister up as she tried to walk around the flat. I think after the fact I was still at home when Anna could walk on her own, my mum knew something was up between Darren and me.

"She approached me on the matter one night when Anna had already gone to bed, asking me why I hadn't bothered to go back and visit my future husband and family in almost four months and it all just tumbled out of me. I told her how I felt, and how guilt-ridden I was over not fully supporting Darren in his dreams when he'd been there for me when I went for my goal, but he couldn't be there for me when I really did just need him to hold me and tell me it would be all right."

Moving his arms at last, Charlie moved to hug the Healer in front of him, doing what her ex-fiancé didn't do for her, only to have her turn away the second his arms raised the slightest few inches. Retracting, there was little else he could do if Abby wouldn't allow him to come any nearer.

"Mum's advice was to stop telling her everything and start telling Darren about the problems we were facing," said Abby with a sigh, Charlie knowing that the conversation couldn't have gone very well if she was standing there in front of him explaining it. Her hand went into her hair, running all the way through her long mane as if she were trying to record memories into an invisible Pensieve. "It was really the only option to take in order to salvage any remains of a possible relationship, let alone a marriage. I knew it had to be done, but hearing it from mum cinched it all. I went back to the Barton Estate the next morning to talk things over with Darren.

"I got there, and before I could say anything to him, he mentioned his mother wanted a word with me the moment I arrived. I told him we had to talk about important things, but he insisted that Mrs Barton had been waiting for some time to have her own talk with me, and that we would talk immediately afterwards. He took me upstairs to the parlour and escorted me in, where his mother, aunt, and grandmother were waiting for me patiently.

"They told me to sit down, offered me tea, and proceeded with their agenda, no questions as to how my mum and sister were doing. They jumped immediately into the question of how long it had been since I'd worked and if I'd quit or just taken leave. I told them I was on personal leave, and without skipping a beat, told me to quit. Mrs Barton went on an entire speech about how my career choice was not respectable for a lady and that I wouldn't need to work anyway since they had more than enough money to support me. I tried to explain that I worked for enjoyment and not money, but it didn't click into their minds. Instead, they rationalised I would soon be too busy to work anyway. Darren and I were to be married in six months, I had wedding arrangements to tend to, and then there were the duties of wife to Darren, and mother to the sons I would be expected to bear immediately."

Pressing her hand to her forehead with a heavy sigh, Charlie could have sworn he saw a single tear brimming in the corner of Abby's right eye, which quickly vanished in a blink of his own.

"Needlessly said, those three women got an earful from me," Abby scoffed, shaking her head at the thought, a tiny flush making its way to her cheeks. "I told them that there was no way I could ever take orders like that and I wasn't going to put up with it any more. At that point, I turned to Darren, who stood there as if nothing was wrong with what his mother had told me. He said nothing at all to defend my thoughts on that matter. It was in that instant that I realised just how much he loved me. Everything tumbled down from there.

"Everything came out, and it was a mess. I told Darren he was an ungrateful fiancé, and while I had bent over backwards to please his family, he barely cared for mine enough to ask how they were. He'd let me become a different person before his eyes and he did nothing to stop it. He'd changed from the man I had become engaged to before. He'd left me emotionally, so I left him physically. I packed my bags and left the engagement ring, and quite frankly I'd have liked to have left it lodged in his throat."

It dawned on Charlie what Abby had meant by saying he left her first. It wasn't a literal meaning he would have thought of, but in words it was completely true. A strong urge bubbled inside of him, saying he was to fly all the way back to England with the sole purpose of hunting down Darren Barton and assuring he had a long painful stay at St. Mungo's.

"I spent months at home in silence," recalled Abby after a moment. "For a while, I started blaming myself for what had happened, if I'd said something sooner, maybe things would have worked out. I found it hard to blame him for everything; I know I had to have played some part in our breaking up other than just calling everything off. I know I still do put some guilt in me. I felt horrible for what it had come to, and I should have never let it come to that point, but I didn't say anything. We were both at fault for doing nothing to save our relationship."

"It's more his than yours," Charlie concluded quietly with a scoff, scratching the back of his head. "Abby...I..."

"Don't even try," she silenced him on the spot, raising her hand in order to halt his speaking. "I can't believe you, reading my mail and not even trusting in the fact I'd told you the truth. I told you I realised he didn't love me anymore and that is the truth. He may claim he still has feelings in letters, but its one instance where actions speaks more than words. Charlie, I can't believe you didn't believe me."

"I'm..." he began again, only to have a hand in his face again.

"I don't know what makes me angrier, this or the fact I saw you kissing Giselle this morning," she threw out her qualm onto the table.

Charlie stopped, his mind drawing blank on the events of the morning. "What?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," spat Abby, wagging her finger as if she were scolding a small child. "I went down to Herb's office and I saw it. You can't deny it happened."

All afternoon he'd been trying to erase the thought of Giselle Leblanc kissing him, the sudden recall making him cringe under his skin and shiver down into his core. In his mind, it hadn't counted as anything. She'd kissed him. He hadn't kissed her back.

"Abby, it's not..." he tried to speak.

"No more, Charlie," Abby screamed out, turning her back and beginning to walk down the hallway towards her room again. "Don't lie to me. It's bad enough you don't even trust me to tell you the truth."

"I'm not, I just..." Charlie yelled back, raising his voice of overcome Abby's.

Before he could finish the sentence, Abby had already unlocked the door to her room and slipped in, slamming the door before Charlie could prevent it from closing in his face. Hitting his nose against the wood, he stumbled back a little, but immediately banged his fist against the door and jiggling the locked handle.

"Abby!" he called as his hands hit the door repetitively, hoping she would at the least hear him out on the matter. "Abby, open the door!"

As if by some miracle, the door opened and a crystal vase containing a bouquet of red roses were thrust against Charlie's chest just as it shut again. Holding the gift he had conjured for her less than a day ago, the outcome of everything seemed clearer than the glass vase. A fire began to burn down in Charlie's centre, filling him with a hot rage comparable only to the brightest blue flame from a Swedish Short-Snout.

"Fine!" Charlie shouted at the door. "Just fine!"

Dropping the vase, the roses and water spilt onto the floor in a large pile as the vase rolled along the corridor, stopping as it tapped the wall. With his wand, the entire mess vanished in a puff of vapour, the spell eliminating the memory of the roses that had once explained everything.

Stalking away, he crossed his arms across his sweater to find one rose had gotten a thorn caught in the knit. Forcefully, he snatched the flower from his clothing, causing it to snag the yellow fibres, and threw it to floor as he passed by the third floor common area. Unable to get out of the building fast enough, he leapt down the stairs in bounds as if running from the dangerous creature that would rip out his heart and soul faster than a Dementor could.

The sole surviving rose lay still on the carpeted floor in front of the common room. As though it were doomed to die from lack of care, it silently awaited fate to rid it of life until one delicate hand leaned down to pluck it from pending death. Grasped between a thumb and index finger, it rose to the level of a set of hazel eyes that darted from Room 317 to the staircase.

"This can't be good, Simeon," the holder of the rose spoke softly to her companion, the two of them leaning against the frame of the doorway, unable to put a word to everything that had happened only a wall away from them.

**A/N:** And the mystery of Darren Barton is revealed in gigantic monologue. Yeah, Abby can monologue, but Charlie doesn't have much to say about the topic anyway, so he let her go on.

I was partially inspired for the story of Darren and Abby from the Amanda Bynes' movie, What a Girl Wants. It contains the high society expectations and attempted transformation that inspired this, but their romance and the ultimate end is not from that movie.

And I bring this up cause no one may think of it in all the drama, but what were Simeon and Bella doing all alone together?

Hope you're enjoying, not much more to go.


	26. Chapter Twenty Five: The Snitch That Got

**RubeusHagrid34:** What's not to like? That's a question I depend on you to answer. The most frequent dislike is that it's a slow start in the first few chapters. A few people have mentioned that. Your question may have been rhetorical, but there's an answer. :P Most people really latch on to Simeon, and he actually won an award for Best Male OC when I originally posted this. I'm glad you like.

**teacher123:** Thank you so much. There isn't much more to this tale, one chapter after the one I'm posting now left to get up for this installment, but I think I've mentioned this is a trilogy. There will be more to explore in the life of Charlie Weasley.

- - -

**Chapter Twenty-Five: The Snitch That Got Away**

Charlie had become a scarce being around the reserve over the week following the argument with Abby, his whereabouts when not working or sleeping unknown by everyone, Simeon included. Disappearing for hours on end in the middle of the day, avoidance had become a game he was getting very good at. It eliminated the prospect of ever having to face anyone who might have known about what had happened between Abby and him that horrible April night, which was exactly what he wanted. 

The days had become substantially warmer as May staggered on, allowing Charlie's disappearances to take place outdoors. As days grew longer he could go flying or walk around the reserve lands for hours until sunset, though the spring air didn't take his mind away from his problems for very long. On coming back to the reserve's main building, it was impossible to not look towards the infirmary windows and wonder if he would catch a glimpse of the equally elusive Healer as she closed the windows for the night. He told himself every day he wouldn't do so, but every time his eyes would fail to obey the instruction and try to catch a look.

It was the first rainy day in May that people actually saw Charlie hanging around the reserve, sitting at the edge of the mess hall with a morning newspaper and his breakfast alone. Against the backdrop of grey foggy windows with speckles of rain dotting them every few seconds, whispers went down the long table where his usual co-workers sat, wondering why he sat all by his lonesome, before two occupants of the table rose from their places and approached the solitary man in the back.

"Hi Charlie," Bella chimed brightly, stopping in front of the small table meant for four at the back of the mess hall, Simeon following along behind her.

"Morning," he responded, not bothering to look up from the newspaper he was reading as Bella sat across from him with her elbows resting on the table and her chin balanced on her fingers.

"How are you?" she asked casually, not trying to hide the concern that iced her words like chocolate frosting on a vanilla cake.

"Perfect," he replied, turning to the next page to read about the highlights of the most recent Quidditch match between Portugal's Braga Broomfleet and Germany's Heidelberg Harriers. "Did you hear about this game, Simeon? Brutal stuff those Harriers are made of."

"Talk to me, Charlie, please," begged Bella, her calm and concerned approach dropping in an instant for a more direct one.

"What is there to talk about?" asked the man across the table, looking over his newspaper for only a brief moment for Bella to see him shrug.

"Abby," she suggested the topic immediately without any hesitation. "You need to talk to her."

"Why?" he questioned, still reading the newspaper and admiring a picture of a brilliant save by the Portuguese Keeper as he executed an excellent Double Eight Loop.

"Because it's stupid to see the both of you lose something magical over something as trivial as unopened letters and a misguided kiss," Bella concluded, grabbing one end of the newspaper and snatching it from his grasp.

"It's not really trivial," argued Charlie, trying to grab his reading material back from Bella.

"It is," she snapped back, causing Charlie to back off and sit straight in his chair. "It's a stupid misunderstanding that could be easily resolved if the two of you would just talk it out like mature adults."

"Well, she doesn't want to talk," Charlie fought back, grabbing his cup of coffee before Bella could take it away from him too. "And quite frankly, if she doesn't, then I don't either."

"Oh," fumed Bella as she crumpled up the newsprint into a tiny ball, tempting herself to throw it at Charlie's head, "you're both so stubborn."

"Glad you've finally realised that," nodded Charlie, raising his mug to Bella before he took a sip of the hot morning brew.

Brushing aside the loose waves of hair that had fallen into her face, Bella shot a glance towards her boyfriend, urging him to say something to his best friend. The man only shrugged towards her, making her roll her eyes before turning back to the stubborn converser.

"Seriously Charlie," she started again, adopting a sterner voice, "you need to take the first step here. You did violate her privacy. I know you didn't intend to, but if she had read your mail concerning a broken relationship, you'd feel violated too. She's hurt that you, her friend, would think about her the way you did."

"Did she tell you that herself?" he asked, giving Bella an odd look.

"Well..." her voice became meek as she looked towards Simeon for the answer, "it's not what she said exactly..."

"We're not talking," Charlie stated the obvious, not bothering to wait for Bella to finish her concocted thought. "End of story."

"You have to," she argued, getting her strong voice back as her buttocks rose out of her seat a little.

"Why?"

"Because," Bella screeched, finally rising out of her chair completely, two balled fists at her side and ready to knock sense into Charlie if she had to. "She's handed in a weeks' notice to Herb already. She'll leave here if you don't talk to her."

"Let her do as she pleases," shrugged Charlie, leaning back in his seat with his coffee at his lips. "It is her life after all."

"Charlie..." Bella hands slammed against the wooden table with force she wasn't aware she had in her.

"Come on, Bella," Simeon finally spoke, taking his girlfriend by the arm and pulling her away from the table before she could protest. "See you later, Charlie."

"Simeon..." she whispered, telling him with her eyes to release her, the quieted voice falling on deaf ears.

Pulling his lady out of the mess hall and into the corridor, Simeon finally let go of her arm to shut the doors behind them. With his body blocking the entrance, Bella couldn't get back in, forcing her into words with him rather than Charlie.

"Simeon, why didn't you let me finish?" she argued angrily, placing her hands on her hips and giving him an evil glare.

"I do not think ve should interfere anymore," Simeon stated simply, keeping his arms crossed over his chest and not moving from his spot.

"But..." his girlfriend began to speak, only to have his index and middle fingers gently touch her lips and prevent her from going into a long endless rant on the topic.

"Ve cannot force Charlie to go after her," he explained plainly, bringing his two fingers up and brushing her hair back. "He must come on his own terms."

"But she'll leave," Bella argued intensely, pouting her lips as a few tears came into her eyes. "We can't just stand idly by and let them lose this."

"He must come to see this himself," her boyfriend repeated his wise words with a nod. "Ve cannot help him anymore. Ve have done vhat ve can. The rest is up to him."

Tenderly, he planted a peck in the middle of her forehead, taking her elbow into his own and leading her away from the mess hall. Leaning her head onto his shoulder, Bella let out a sigh, cursing the fact that Simeon had to be right in all of his logical sense.

"What if they don't make-up in time?" asked Bella, holding back on the tears.

"Then it vas not meant to be," sighed Simeon, reluctantly letting out the undesired information.

Nestling into her normal spot on Simeon's arm, there was only one thing Bella could say. "It is meant to be. I know it."

- - -

The floors of the infirmary sloshed with water and soap, suds bubbling and creating clean white foam as a mop moved them about the tiles. Scrubbing hard against the dirty marks tracked in by dragon keeper's boots there was a tinge of soreness spreading in the arms of the cleaning woman, the pain growing with every movement of her muscles. The entire infirmary floor had met her mop, and there were still the stubborn stains that refused to budge or fade the slightest bit. Finally frustrated with the spots that declined lifting by non-magical means, she took out her wand, took careful aim, and blasted them out of the tiles, leaving a shimmering floor beneath the suds.

"What happened to appreciating magic by not using it?" asked Seth as he stood at the infirmary door, watching the Healer begin to soak up the leftover water with a large sponge she conjured.

Abby looked towards the door, giving Seth a menacing glare and silencing his smirk instantly. As the sponge absorbed the excess of soapy water along the ground, she diverted her gaze to it, picking it up in her hands and emptying the filled pores into an old metal bucket.

"If you're here to talk to me about talking to Charlie, you can turn around now and save your time and mine," she replied just as the sponge dripped the final drops of liquid.

"Actually, I just wanted to show you the draft of my next article," proclaimed Seth as the Healer picked up the bucket and waddled over the sink to dump the grey solution down the drain, a little sloshing over the sides as she walked. "I thought you might like to know where my research column is going in the near future."

Approaching the sink slowly, he let Abby pour the murky contents of her bucket down the drain before he pulled the article out of his front pocket, unfolding it for her to read. Drying her hands thoroughly against her pants, he handed her the neatly typed piece of yellow parchment paper, taking a seat atop of the counter and leaning on the cold rained on windows as she glanced over it.

"It's going to be published around the end of May, I think," he reported just before she could begin to read the title. "We do like to work ahead a few weeks with these research articles."

_DRAGON TEARS  
By Seth Hunter Johansson_

_  
Over four months in Romania has not been a lost cause, though I'm sure some researchers in the field would think so. To a degree, I could probably say I've failed miserably. Tears were collected, and experimented on, but nothing was procured from the tests performed. Tears were just tears at the end of the day, not intended to be taken into an open-heart surgery. One could argue that the only thing we have learned is to not repeat the experiment over again._

Those who know me know that this is not the end of the story.

Phoenix tears do not occur at random intervals, when they awaken from sleep or so forth, just as humans, Muggle or magical, do. Creatures shed tears on sadness, reacting to emotional stimuli such as loss or death. We can even cry when frustrated with the world. While in Romania, I did not observed and therefore did not collect the proper tears of dragons.

It was a thought I admit to overlooking.

It leaves an open question to the possibility of dragon tears. Further investigations on the matter are necessary if we are truly to unlock the secrets behind magical properties of magnificent creatures. There are endless mysteries in the world centred on the creatures, dragon tears being but one.

Perhaps dragons don't have the emotional responses like a phoenix or a person. Like some strong-willed people or wild phoenixes, perhaps they aren't able to shed tears. It brings forth psychological questions of the beast. Can a dragon feel pain or loss? They certainly know aggression, and aren't afraid to show it, but love and sadness are another story.

It will be up to another person to unlock this mystery behind tears of a dragon. By the 31st of May this 1995, my contract with The Healer Herald expires. I wish whoever may find interest in this topic, the best of luck and happy findings.

"Your contract with The Healer Herald is expiring?" Abby glanced up from the piece of parchment paper to stare at Seth, twiddling his thumbs patiently while waiting for her reaction.

"Yes," he nodded with a small proud smile, hopping off of the counter.

"You mean they haven't asked you to renew yet?" she asked, handing his article back to him.

"Oh, they have," Seth replied, looking over his own work with a grin. "They actually had me lined up to go to Fiji and study the soft bodies of Fire Crabs. I'm not renewing it though. I'm quitting."

"What?" Abby gasped, her green eyes widening.

"Something more important in life is presenting me with a grand opportunity," he explained in his most formal words. "I don't want to let it slide away."

The Healer let his words sink in before the truth dawned on her. Biting down on her lip softly, she looked at the journalist. "Liza?"

Seth smiled back, a dreamy Bella-like mist shading over his already grey and hazy eyes. "She wrote back last night. I'll be going back to Southampton to see my parents and Claire for a few days, bid farewell to my editor and staff, and then I'm flying back to Sydney on the fifth of June, and she'll be there for me."

"What will you do down there for work?" she asked curiously.

"Not too sure yet," he replied with a sigh and a shrug. "I still have my background as a Healer and I'm sure I can find something down there at the local hospital or where I did that research with Billywigs."

"Isn't that sort of...reckless?" Abby cautiously spoke, trying to choose her words carefully. "I mean, not knowing what you'll do job-wise once you're there? It's very uncertain."

"I guess it is," said Seth, brushing the concern aside with mere tone in his voice. "But, you know, I really don't care as long as I have Liza and I'm happy."

Abby could only nod, looking downward at her wet sneakers and stained shirt. Gently touching her shoulder, Seth brought her chin back up so her eyes could once again meet with his own.

"I know what you're probably thinking," he said softly, giving her a small smile. "Happiness finds everyone eventually. As Shakespeare once penned, 'The course of true love never did run smooth.' He was a smart guy cause it's a very true line. It's actually not just a bumpy journey. It's more like trying to hike up a mountain during an earthquake, but you just have to keep trying to go ahead in spite of obstacles."

Not bothering to laugh or scowl, Abby only gave a weak smile for the comment, using one hand to slowly push Seth's hands away from her. Turning back to the empty sink, she began to run clean water and add soap until it was filled with bubbles, dropping an old rusting pewter cauldron in as she searched for a scrub brush.

"What did you think of the article itself?" Seth asked, diverting their conversation away from his glee and her pain.

"It's well-done," she replied, finding a brush and beginning to scrap away at the golden red rust. "It's honest, and it does pose questions for further research. It leaves a lot of possibilities for the future."

"I should thank you then," he confessed readily. "I think you were an inspiration for this."

"How?" questioned Abby. "I don't think that one conversation we had about dragon tears would sway you."

"You're the most strong-willed person I know," explained Seth, clicking his tongue, "and I've never seen you cry."

The scrubbing brush and ancient cauldron slipped from her hands, sliding back into the sink with a small splash. As if she were stunned as she hunched over the water, not a single part of her body moved, everything paralysed in place.

"I mean no offence by it," Seth quickly covered his own words, "some people just don't cry even if they have every reason to in the world. It's not a flaw or a weakness. I hope you do know that it's perfectly fine if you do cry."

"What's the point of a human shedding tears?" she asked, shaking her head over the sink, grasping the edges as if she were going to vomit into the cauldron. "They don't change your situation unless you're a phoenix."

Seth shrugged. "Sometimes it just makes you feel better."

"I did a lot of crying years ago," Abby concluded, flicking her hair so it sat behind her shoulder. "It did nothing for me."

"Then that's fine," he agreed, patting her on the back.

Only bowing her head to concur, she turned back to the cauldron sitting in the sink. "I have a lot of cleaning to do. I don't want to leave this place in a mess for the next Healer Herb hires."

"Then I'll just say what Bella wanted me to say here once and leave you be," said Seth, giving the Healer's shoulder a tight squeeze. "Please reconsider this whole leaving thing. You've got friends here who are going to miss you incredibly, and one incident shouldn't make you run away from that, so just put some more thought into it."

With one last pinch to her shoulder, Seth turned on the balls of his feet and began to walk away, his shoes squeaking as he walked over the newly cleaned, and still damp, tiles. She listened as he turned the knob of the infirmary door, his steps dying as he found his way to the carpeted corridor.

"Oh, and talk to Charlie, because it's all just a big misunderstanding that can be worked out. I nearly forgot that part of the message."

- - -

Sunlight had graced the Romanian landscape shortly after the downpour and remained an entire week, still brightly shining on the day Abby was due to leave the reserve and board a plane back to the United Kingdom. As Simeon placed her single suitcase into the trunk of the old station wagon, a pack from the reserve had piled outside to see her off. Hugs were being exchanged all around the crowd, only a weak and simple smile coming from the departing as some workers tried to convince her to stay, Herb being among the beggars on their knees.

It was all completely viewable from the infirmary window as Charlie sat alone in the clean and empty place he had not visited in ages, his eyes watching the Healer as she made her way through difficult goodbyes amongst the crowd.

Turning a struggling golden ball in his fist, Charlie opened up his fingers, allowing the Quidditch piece to flutter just within his arm span before he would snatch it back in his palm. Though it was a fast Snitch, it didn't work well as a distraction from the events going on outside and below; the golden ball with silver wings had been a gift from the person he was trying not to think about. With a sigh, he continued to let the Snitch fly about in front of him, catching it and releasing it all the same in the vain attempt that it would take his mind off of things he didn't wish to have flying about in his head.

After Abby left, he wouldn't have to hide from everyone by going out for mid-afternoon flights over the woods. He wouldn't have to pretend he wasn't injured and attempt to mend bruises in the privacy of his room, and he wouldn't have to skip meals any longer either just to avoid not seeing her. She'd be gone for good.

It was a bittersweet moment. He could start living his life again, even though she was the one who had made it worthwhile before all the unpleasantness had unravelled.

A quiet click at the door made Charlie freeze in his spot, the Snitch already grasped in his hand tightly as someone walked into the room, pushing a cart laden with brooms, mops, a dustbin and cleaning material. Recognizing the visitor to the room on sight, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have quiet company who was unaware of his dilemma.

"Oh, hello Nisha," he greeted his boss' wife as she waved merrily to the room's one occupant.

The Snitch was released again, his hand quickly snatching it from flight as his eyes went back to the window. Tearfully, Bella was bidding her goodbye, clutching onto her leaving roommate's shoulders tightly as Abby patted her back lovingly, though it also looked as though she was suffocating slightly beneath Bella's embrace.

"So clean in here," Nisha commented to herself quietly as she surveyed the room, running her hand against cabinets that stood between the beds and brushing her foot along the shining tiles. "She did an excellent job, not a speck."

Continuing her path through the infirmary, Nisha slowly made her way across the room until she was at the windows by Charlie, climbing onto the counter to inspect the cleanliness of the panes. Carefully gliding her finger against the glass, they squeaked with joy, putting a smile on her face.

"Your friend is leaving today," she spoke in a hushed voice, observing the scene beneath the windows before turning attention to Charlie. "Do you not wish to bid her farewell?"

"No," he answered right away. "We've said enough to each other."

Nisha nodded, turning back to the window, touching the cold glass as she watched Abby shake hands with Ryan Donaldson. "She is a lovely girl. Must be hard to say goodbye."

Not bothering with a response to the comment, Charlie turned his full attention to the Snitch, assuring that it didn't leave the circumference of his arm span while Nisha watched the last few people move in for a group hug. Opening one of the windows, the spring breeze brought in the smell of new life as sounds of farewells rang clear. Breathing in the fresh seasonal air, Nisha turned to face Charlie as she hopped off of the counter, watching intently as he concentrated on his game with the golden Quidditch ball.

"You are good with the Snitch," she said just as Charlie caught it by the tip of its silvery wing.

"I used to be a Seeker," he explained his skill with the fluttering ball before he released and caught it again.

"How nice," sighed Nisha, one of her dark longing eyes glancing at the open blue sky just over the woods. "I could never fly, being Squib. You like it?"

"It's fun," shrugged Charlie, not really knowing how to explain the like of the game to someone who couldn't be in the air to play it. He didn't want to say too much, not wanting to make Nisha feel worse over the fact she couldn't do the same things wizards could.

"I think I would have problems," Nisha confessed honestly, her voice getting a little quieter as she took a step towards Charlie, resting her palms on the countertop where he sat. "I am not good at catching things. I would let them...get away from me. But you are good, I think."

Her eyes went back to the window for only a brief second, her hand moving to rest on the fist that held the Snitch in place. With the lightest touch, like a delicate young butterfly on his skin, she patted his fist reassuringly, the bracelets on her wrist jangling as she moved the slightest.

"You would not let the most important thing slip away," she sighed, giving him a small smile.

Sliding her hands away from the countertop, Herb's wife moved away from the countertop, the cart of her supplies waiting to be used on a room that needed cleaning. Charlie watched as she moved away, wondering if Bella had been the one to send her up to talk. It seemed like too much coincidence for one conversation, yet it was strangely profound at the same time.

While his eyes were on Nisha leaving, he let his hand relax, and the Snitch broke free from his grasp.

With wickedly fast speed, the tiny walnut-sized ball zipped out of Charlie's reach, heading the open window before deciding to change directions and head upwards to the ceiling. Scrambling to his feet, Charlie leapt up to take the Snitch back into his hands, the silvery wing just escaping the tip of his fingers. Sinking back to the ground, the Snitch teased him, flying by his ear and around the back of his head. Before it could make a second lap and vanish in a blur, he fell onto his back and snatched the body of the ball in one hand, the wings on it retracting as he closed his hand around it.

"Close one," said Nisha as she walked backwards out the door, the pulling the cart out after her.

Lying flat on his back on the countertop, about an inch away from rolling right off onto the floor, Charlie could only stare at the Snitch in his hand, the first Snitch that nearly got away from him in his entire life.

"I'll see you at dinner, Mr Weasley." The door to the infirmary closed, leaving Charlie alone once again.

Bolting upright, Charlie's eyes darted for the window, just as the beat up station wagon was pulling out of the long driveway and heading down the dirt path, stirring dust as the wheels turned. The back of Abby's head was visible, though it slowly faded as Simeon drove the car towards Bucharest and out of his life. There wasn't time to think logically anymore.

Quickly shoving the golden ball into his pocket, Charlie leapt from his seat in the infirmary and burst out of the room, racing down the stairs as fast as his two legs could carry him. Running past fellow co-workers as they pushed him out of their way, he was too invigorated to stop and apologize for stamping on their feet. Once he had reached the front doors, he quickly jumped off of the veranda, Bella, Seth and Herb having to duck to the sides to get out of his way.

"Charlie, what are you...?" Bella began to ask, her heart racing from the shock.

"Explain later," he cut in, pulling his wand out and aiming it towards the garage. "Accio broom."

The garage door opened with a mighty slam, an ancient looking Comet 140 with a pealed handle and many missing twigs speeding out towards them, though often having to straighten out its flight path as it made its way. Finally stopping, and nearly falling to the ground, Charlie mounted it fast. 

"What's going on?" Herb asked, adjusting the glasses on his crystal blue eyes.

Charlie had taken off before he could dignify his boss with an answer, pushing off on both feet and letting the wobbly broomstick lead him after the distant car. Manoeuvring so the broom stayed straight, he kept close to the ground, hoping that Simeon would at least see him in the car's mirror and slow down if the broom couldn't accelerate to a full speed.

Sputtering above the dirt road, dust and sand stirring as he went, it seemed doubtful that the stuttering broom would reach the car before it past the barrier between Muggle and magical world. Lifting up his body to take pressure off of the vehicle, it only sped up slightly, a quiet prayer hoping it would be enough to get to Abby before the barrier did. With hands gripping the rough worn handle as if it were Darren Barton's bare neck, there was no chance he would give up without a fight.

From the corner of his eye, the distant station wagon came into view, inching a bit closer with each second that past, Simeon taking caution with the bumpy gravel and dust road. Relieving weight from his rear a little more, the broom continued to speed up as he rode, getting closer to his heart's desire.

"STOP!" he called out, hoping that Simeon or Abby would hear him from the car. "STOP!"

The station wagon continued to make its way to the barrier, the driver not taking notice to the figure on a broom in the mirror but rather the young woman in the backseat as she stared out at the forest with a forlorn face.

Crouching lower to break less wind, Charlie sped up, continuing to scream and get the attention of someone. As his voice failed to reach the vehicle he approached, he took one hand off of the broom, waving madly in hopes the reflection from the mirror would be seen.

"STOP!" he yelled, taking both hands from the broom and sitting up straight, making himself as large as he could for the mirror.

Instantly the broom veered off course, swaying to the right and into the bushes and trees that lined the path. Branches, leaves, twigs, and insects found their way into Charlie's hair, his vision filled with the sight of green and brown shades. Putting his hands back on the broomstick, he pulled it to the left, slowly steering blindly back into the path, only to crash head on into the driver's side of the stopped car before landing on the dirt road as though he were aiming to be run over.

"Is he all right?" Simeon asked, throwing the door to the car open and struggling with his seatbelt at the sight of his still roommate in the middle of the path.

"Charlie?" Abby gasped, stepping out of the station wagon, and running towards him. "Charlie!"

Dropping on her hands and knees, she hovered over his body as he groaned, struggling to open his eyelids as pain throbbed through the back of his head. Removing her soft navy jacket hastily, she rolled it up between her hands to make a pillow, very gently lifting his head to slip it beneath him. As she cradled his neck in her palm, his eyes fluttered open, both of their hearts skipping a beat as green and brown irises met.

"Abby, don't leave!" he spat out right away, not allowing his head to think about what he was saying anymore.

"Be still," Abby instructed patiently, putting her jacket pillow beneath his head, allowing him to sink to its softness.

"Let me finish first," interrupted Charlie before Abby could speak again.

His hand grabbed her arm, sliding down her skin until it met with her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. Using what strength he had, in spite of the throbbing inside of his head and the Healer's orders, he sat up, causing him to wobble in a blood rush and for Abby to put her other hand behind his back to add to his support. 

"I didn't kiss Giselle, for starters," he began, blinking rapidly to make the rainbow-coloured spots in front of his eyes go away. "She kissed me, and I tried to pull away. I did manage to, but I guess that was after you saw her kiss me. But I didn't enjoy that kiss. It was dreadful, really. I didn't want it and I never will. There is nothing going on between the two of us.

"Second of all, I shouldn't have read that letter from Darren, and made assumptions about your break-up with him. It wasn't an intentional move, and I regret that choice, but that letter scared me. I thought that if you left him, then the same thing would happen to me if we got involved. I mean, he sounded rich and...let's be honest here I can't compete with that. I barely make enough to fly home once a year. I can't offer you what he did. And I figured that once you realised that, you would leave."

"Charlie," Abby began, shaking her head low.

"Not finished." His two words silenced her, and the air around him as he took a deep ragged breath. "I should have realised that you would never do anything like that. I know you better than that; that you're not that kind of person to leave without a good reason. Why that didn't occur to me, I don't know."

"Charlie..."

"The thing is, Abby," he continued past her interruption, trying to speed up his speech. "I let a wonderful person get away from me, years ago. We fell out of contact after we left Hogwarts, and that shouldn't have happened. I didn't realise it then. I let the greatest friend get away and I was lucky that you decided to come to Romania and show me what I'd been missing. I'm not willing to let it happen again, because I know I might not be that lucky next time. I'm not about to let you walk out of my life again if I can prevent it."

The hand that had been helping hold him up by digging into the ground rose and gently touched Abby's smooth cheekbone. Leaning closer to her, he took a few deep breaths, the pain in his head fading into a dull pound against his skull as he looked up into her green eyes again.

"I don't know where this will lead us, really," confessed Charlie. "All I know is that I've never felt this way before, about anyone or anything. You're a great friend, and I don't know what you thought about it, but that one kiss was spectacular. What we have is special, and there's so much potential, and I'm not about to risk letting it fly away. I won't let you be the one that got away."

Time had frozen itself between Abby and Charlie, neither one of them daring to make a single move or take one breath. They could only stare for seconds, each tick of Charlie's watch feeling like hours. The only sound around them was the wind rustling through the trees mixed with the subtle coughing from Simeon's mouth as he waited for something to happen. Swallowing back a bit of saliva, Abby finally removed her hand from Charlie's back, brushing some of the hair that had escaped from her loose unfinished ponytail and letting the fingers rest on her own shoulder.

"Well I'm done now," Charlie announced the obvious as he cleared his throat, taking his hand away from Abby's face, "so if you have any reaction at all, now would be a good time to fill this incredibly awkward silence."

Abby didn't speak immediately, twisting her hand out of Charlie's grasp, their fingers undoing their lock on each other. Leaning inward, she let her fingers touch his face, slowly inching their way upwards until they full cupped his cheeks, her index fingers grazing his warm ears. Her body came closer towards him, sunlight being shadowed out from between them.

"You had me at, 'Abby, don't leave,'" she whispered, just before her lips collided into his.

Instinctively, Charlie's arms made their way to Abby's back, pulling her in closer to him so no light could get between them. Every sense in him overloaded and exploded, the sensation of fireworks going off in his head as he memorised the exact feel of her lips on his. For all of ten seconds, it was complete bliss.

Coming apart, both of them opened their eyes to view each other's wide grins. Taking their hands away, and putting them in their own laps, they only looked at each other, not seeming to have words to exchange after another magical moment.

"So," Abby finally broke the silence, shrugging one shoulder casually, "what do we do now?"

Charlie thought for only a few seconds. "I'm not too sure."

As if on cue, the both of them began to laugh, sharing in the hearty chuckle together. Abby buried her face in her hands, not wanting Charlie to see as her face became a bright flushing pink as her stomach began to hurt from the giggles.

"I guess I might ask you out," he suggested very naturally as her snickers began to die down into a soft laugh. His hand found her upper arm, slowly brushing her skin as gently as he could while her eyes found his again. "Maybe you'd like to watch a movie or go to dinner or maybe go flying?"

Taking a quick look at the sorry excuse for a broomstick lying next to Charlie, Abby leaned inward again, coming close enough for Charlie to feel the word's air leaving her mouth. "How about we go for a walk?"

Beaming at the suggestion Charlie slowly rose from where he'd been sitting in the dust, cracking all the stiff and sore joints on the way up, and offered his hand to Abby. Pulling her from her spot on the ground he pecked her forehead quickly, grinning goofily as she laughed.

"Ahem," a voice came from behind them, making them look back in surprise to see Simeon tapping his fingers against the top of the station wagon. "I vill drive back to the reserve, and I do not think you need that ancient broom for a walk."

Charlie looked down at the ground, the broom that had crashed him into the car lying at his feet. Bending over, he picked up the rough handle, giving Abby a lingering gaze as he walked backwards towards the car.

"Thanks for stopping, Simeon," he thanked his roommate and friend, handing the broom over to his hands. "I wasn't sure you could hear me yelling at you to stop."

"I didn't," Simeon confessed immediately, shoving the broomstick into the passenger side seat, looking back to Charlie.

With raised eyebrows, Charlie looked from the car to Simeon to the road they had come along. Leaning against the open car door, he puzzled over it. "Then why did you stop the car?"

Following the direction of Simeon's pupils, they guided him to the figure in front of the car, picking up her blue jacket on the dirt path and shaking the dust from it vigorously before she slipped it back over her arms.

Charlie's eyes shot back to Simeon, just as his friend shot him a playful smirk pulling a single blooming rose with a short snagged yellow thread stuck to the thorn from the front compartment of the car. "Do not let me keep you from your date."

No further words were needed from any of the three, Simeon handing the flower to his friend before sliding back into the driver's seat and placing the keys in the ignition, Charlie slamming the door for him. Waving a short goodbye, he walked ahead to his waiting companion. Placing the rose delicately into her grasp, he put his arm around her opposing shoulder and held her close as they began to make their way down the path, her index finger twisting around the short yellow snag.

"So," Charlie started the conversation with a small cough, "how is your sister?"

**A/N:** And I could conclude with that, but there is one more post to make, an epilogue of sorts. I swear that's the last part of this long story. And then there are two sequels.

Two notes about inspirations for the final scene between Abby and Charlie. First off, the description of fireworks exploding, I can't take full credit for. My first boyfriend wrote that in a letter to first tell me that he had feelings for me, which won me over completely, so I feel I must credit him with that amazing metaphor.

The other, at the end where Abby says they should go for a walk comes from the long running sitcom, Frasier, in which after a long time of hiding their relationship, Daphne and Niles are free to date. Niles rambles off a bunch of things they can do, and Daphne in simplicity suggests a walk.

The end with Simeon has always had mixed ideas, what actually made him stop the car? If people could answer their thoughts, it would be interesting, cause I've heard of some thoughts that contrasted my reasons for his hitting the brakes. It is open to speculation.

And on that note, if there are any lingering questions about this story, characters, things you really want to know, ask away. I've always been open to questions, and I do tend to answer them provided I'm not giving away major plotlines and things like that.

Well, one to go. Keep reading! And review if there's time.


	27. Epilogue

**RubeusHagrid34:** Thank Merlin for Nisha, indeed. And thank you for reviewing, and for your answering of my question. It helps. As to the rose, it's the same one that Bella picked up off the floor from the fateful night of Charlie and Abby's confrontation (see the end of Chapter Twenty-Four). It has been in Bella and Simeon's possession, and Simeon had sense to bring it. I hope that clarifies something?

**teacher123:** Thank you! Glad you're happy with that result.

**Everyone else who has reviewed/read in the past and is reading this now:** THANK YOU!

- - -

**Epilogue**

A Saturday breakfast at the Burrow, Ottery St Catchpole, was a normally lively wild event for the Weasleys. According to the members of the family, it just wasn't complete without shouting across the table, scolding from their mother, food flying in every which direction, and a minimum of three broken dishes. But with only two of the older children at home, one already having left for the office to get an early start on work what with his elderly boss being ill, the morning was tame in comparison to ones when all seven children were at home. As Bill sat down at the long empty and quiet kitchen table, still in his nightshirt, he couldn't help but relish in the odd peace that went about rarely experienced on weekend mornings.

"Good morning dear," Molly Weasley greeted cheerfully, her frying pan emptying four strips of bacon and many fried eggs onto her eldest son's plate as an enchanted coffee pot poured a steaming dose of morning caffeine. "Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"Just fine," replied Bill as he picked up his fork and knife, cutting into one of the eggs. "It's always going east that causes jet lag, west is no problem."

The stairs leading down into the kitchen creaked, the sound of shuffling slippers making their way down on the feet of Arthur Weasley. Rounding the corner of the stairs and stepping into the kitchen, the balding thin man rubbed his eyes sleepily, stretching out his arms afterwards.

"Morning Mollywob..." he started to say, before his wife quickly shushed him, gesturing towards their firstborn sitting at the table. "Molly, love."

Bill rolled his eyes, shaking his head with a small smirk as his mother scrambled away to get another plate while his father took a seat across from his son, not knowing quite what to say until his wife began to scoop breakfast for him.

"So, Bill," said Mr Weasley, nodding his head slightly, thinking of a good breakfast conversation as bacon slid onto his plate, "looking forward to seeing the Third Task this week?"

"That's why I took time off and came home," his son replied, giving his father an odd look across the table as a forkful of fried egg went into his mouth.

As if by saving grace to the morning small talk, the screech of an owl in the distance came from the open window, the sight of two birds of prey swooping down from the air towards the house. One owl, falling more than flying in the sky, was recognizable as Errol by his tattered old wings. The other owl wasn't familiar in any way, but was far more agile as it flew alongside the ancient family bird.

"Oh, here comes the post," Mrs Weasley sighed heavily in relief at seeing the owls. "Bill, could you grab it?"

Quickly giving his mouth a wipe with a paper napkin, Bill rose from his chair, walking over to the window and waiting for the two birds to land on the sill, though it was doubtful that Errol would even make it to the window. On a good day, he would only miss it by a few inches. Bad days would vary from landing on top of the chicken coop to uprooting the begonias and tulips outside the window.

"I certainly hope there's not more of that Skeeter woman reporting on Harry," commented Mr Weasley, shaking his head in utter disgust. "The Daily Prophet doesn't give him a moment's rest. Terrible to that boy, as if he didn't have enough to contend with."

With that said, Errol landed with a wet splat in the flowerbeds, his feet pointing upwards so the post wasn't muddy at the very least. The other owl gracefully fluttered onto the open window's sill, sticking out of its foot where a letter had been tied. Snatching the letter and the newspapers from the two owls first, letting the younger one fly up to the roof for a rest, Bill quickly leaned out the window and pulled Errol from the thick garden mud.

"Oh, Errol," the eldest Weasley son sighed as he brought the dirty owl inside, placing him in the empty metal sink to rest. "At least you didn't pull any of the flowers up this time."

The weary old owl gave a mournful hoot, lying still in the sink to conserve what little energy it had while Mrs Weasley took a warm towel to wipe off what mud she could. Sorting through the large bundle of mail, Bill unravelled the newspaper, plopping it down on the table to release a few other smaller magazines.

"Looks like your edition of Muggle Monthly came, dad," Bill announced, sliding the pocket-sized booklet bearing images of many assorted instruments on it across the table so it stopped in front of his father.

"Ah, excellent," Mr Weasley exclaimed excitedly, looking at the front cover as if he were a child dreaming of some long awaited Christmas present. "'Mysteries of Muggle Gardening Tools Uncovered.' Fascinating."

"Witch Weekly for you, mum," informed Bill, turning his attention to the letter addressed to 'Mum and Dad' that had come from the unknown tawny owl. Breaking open the envelope, it took only a quick passing glance at the handwriting in the opening line to tell which Weasley child it had come from. "And a letter from Charlie."

"Oh really?" Mrs Weasley became interested, looking up at Bill from where she was still scrubbing the dirt and soil from Errol's feathery head. "Why don't you read it out loud for us, dear? It has been a few weeks since we heard from him in Romania."

Opening the letter up to its full page, Bill didn't even begin to read before a few items fell from the folded pages and onto the floor. With another roll of his eyes, the eldest Weasley son let out a sigh and got onto his knees, picking up the scattered pieces that had fallen from the letter.

"Looks like he enclosed some pictures too," reported Bill, noticing what the fallen pieces were, taking a quick look at the photographs as he piled them back up in his hands. "That's a change."

"It is," commented Mrs Weasley, rinsing the dirty washcloth in the sink across from Errol's resting spot, wringing out as much dirt as she could before going back to clean the rest of the feathers. "He doesn't usually send photographs. What are they pictures of?"

Sitting back down in front of his breakfast plate, Bill stared at the first picture in the pile, observing the scene and happenings in full before reporting back to his mother. Watching intently, his eyes squinted at the picture before widening to twice the size of a regulation Snitch. Quickly snatching the letter from Charlie, he scanned over it, looking for the paragraph that would explain the photo's events.

Once he had found the corresponding words to match the photograph, Bill couldn't help but begin to laugh, much to the surprise of Mrs Weasley.

"Bill, what's so funny?" she asked, looking up from the bath she was giving the old owl. She marched away from the sink, looking at her giggling son from across the table. "What are you laughing at?"

Flipping the photograph around for his mother to see, there in front of her eyes was her second son, Charlie, and a young woman about his age with long brunette hair and green eyes standing on the clean veranda steps outside of the dragon reserve. They waved madly from their place, laughing heartily together as if they were old friends. Without warning Charlie would grab the woman by the waist, dip her low enough for her hair to brush the ground, and plant a long lingering kiss on her, crossing that boundary of friendship Mrs Weasley had been assuming. Bringing her back into an upright position, tickles would commence, and the scene would begin again from the start.

"Well, mum," Bill started, suppressing his smirks as he watched his mother's eyes grow larger, "remember Charlie's old friend from Hogwarts? Abby?"

**A/N:** And that's the true end of Dragon Tears. I started with three Weasleys, I felt I had to end with three Weasleys. Short and sweet little piece, little insight to the Abby/Charlie thing about a few weeks later by indirect source.

And that's the ending of this part, the first of a trilogy. I started to post the second part, The Order of the Opaleye, over at Phoenix Prophecy, but I haven't actually written that much for it. I may hold off on getting that up here for a little, until I can write some more and get a full feel for it as a whole. While the entire trilogy was plotted before I wrote, part two underwent some major plot additions after I wrote this story. Plus, I'm attempting to complete my degree this Spring, and writing has taken a backseat to my schooling.

I think I gave previous readers hints to the upcoming story, before a few chapters went up, so I guess I should offer that to you people too. Don't read the next paragraph if you don't want to know future things.

There are some new characters: Emilian Zolnerowich, Artemisia Daedalus, and Luciano Di Cicco. There is incorporation of Romanian history. There is a lot to reveal about Simeon D.R. Slovensky. The quartet will be doing some traveling.

I think that's all, or as much as I can remember.

Thank you for reading!


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